MLS Combine Notebook
Friday, January 10, 2014
LAUDERHILL, Fla. – Maybe there’s something about a green jersey that brings out positive performances from Mark Sherrod?
The former Portland Timbers U-23s and Memphis standout, a 2012 PDL All-League selection, played well in the opening scrimmage of the 2014 MLS Combine on Friday afternoon as his Team Predator side took victory against Team Nitro Charge at the Central Broward Regional Park.
Wearing Timbers green, Sherrod scored 10 goals and added three assists, and helped lead the Timbers U-23s to the Western Conference Playoffs as he continued to build his game in the PDL ranks.
“It was great,” Sherrod said. “That was my first season out there, I had played on a summer-league team before but nothing to that standard. The type of players up there were the best in the country, it was just a great overall experience.”
Sherrod, who also got to train with the Timbers first team while in Portland, saw his teammate on the Timbers U-23s, Reinaldo Brenes, find the back of the net, while Eric Miller was also solid as his Team Brazuca side recorded a shutout in the scrimmage’s second contest.
“It kept everything in my body not to talk to Reinaldo while he was out there playing, but I let him stroll by, and it was great to see him score,” Sherrod said.
K-W RE-UNITED: Last summer, Generation adidas defender A.J. Cochran and forward Tomislav Zadro were on the same side as they played for K-W United. On Friday at the Combine, they got to face off against one another in the second scrimmage of the day.
Zadro’s Team Brazuca side took bragging rights with a 2-0 victory, but following the game the tall forward was effusive in his praise for his former teammate’s ability.
“He’s the best in the air in the NCAA,” Zadro said. “I’ve played two years, I was injured one year, so I got to watch him from the sideline, and there’s no-one like him, just winning headers, strong, he’s a great defender.”
Cochran, who was named to the Generation adidas squad earlier in the week, was just as complimentary about Zadro’s game. While they didn’t get to go head-to-head often, Zadro being employed principally wide on the right, it was fun for the two former Wisconsin teammates to match up against one another.
“For Tomo, his feet, for a big guy, he’s got really nice feet, and he’s super-calm on the ball, and smooth, and he brings that calmness to the game,” Cochran said. "When the game’s kind of hectic, and like out there for his team the first 20 minutes everyone was obviously super-excited to be out there, and I think he brought a calmness to the game and kept showing inside the hole, and that was causing us problems.”
Zadro said he was surprised that the call for Cochran to join this year’s Generation adidas squad didn’t come sooner. By contract, Cochran said he knew the real work was about to begin, but it was an exciting prospect to enter next Thursday’s draft as one of the top prospects.
“It was a huge relief, obviously, it was a dream come true, getting Generation adidas, but I knew my work wasn’t done there,” Cochran said. “I knew I was going to have to come here and have a target on my back, and come here and play well.”
SOUNDING OFF: When fellow Sounders FC U-23 players Aaron Kovar and Sean Okoli were announced as the latest players to be signed by Seattle Sounders FC on Thursday, former teammate Aodhan Quinn felt a great amount of pride.
“It’s an awesome achievement, that’s what they worked for, and I’m glad the Sounders rewarded for them with a contract, because you could tell they tore it up in college, so I’m proud of them,” Quinn said. “Kovar was very good on the ball, crossing, he has good technique, and Okoli was a great forward. Hold up play, he could turn, he could score, just an all-around forward. It was pretty easy to play with those guys.”
Quinn, for his part, put in a solid day’s work as part of Team Brazuca in the day’s second scrimmage. After starting off in his conventional central midfield position, Quinn was moved into left back in the second half, and showed off a fine crossing ability with about 10 minutes to play. That versatility could be useful as scouts get a final look at him ahead of Thursday’s MLS SuperDraft.
“I’m just hoping that some of the coaches that haven’t seen me up close and personal can see what I can bring,” Quinn said. “Whether it’s my simple play, they can just see more of what they’ve heard or what they’ve seen on film, so that’s all I’m trying to do.”