PDL Feature
Saturday, January 11, 2014
FT. LAUDERDALE BEACH, Fla. – Among the players at the 2014 MLS Combine, there are those with glittering resumes, with players such as former PDL standouts Patrick Mullins, Steven Neumann and Eric Miller having been prolific at top Division I programs.
Then, there are players like Oliver Gore.
Coming out of Rocky Mountain College, a small NAIA school in Montana, Gore wouldn’t ordinarily have received this type of opportunity. His performance last summer for the Real Colorado Foxes, however, provided a spotlight, and an invitation to perform in front of MLS coaches and scouts this weekend in Florida.
“I knew I wanted to play in the PDL, and my coach at Rocky Mountain, Richard Duffy, advised me to go and play PDL if I wanted to play after I was done in college,” Gore said. “Obviously, Denver was the closest place, I got in contact with them, went down and had a couple of training sessions, and then signed and did alright.”
Alright might be a little bit of an understatement. Gore had a standout season for the Foxes as he earned Player of the Week honors in early July after a four-goal performance in a 4-3 win against the St. Louis Lions. Gore finished the PDL season tied for second in the league with 15 goals in 14 games, and claimed All-League honors as a result.
Gore is certainly appreciative of the time he spent in Denver, and for the teammates he had around him that helped his game grow.
“It was great,” he said. “It was great for my game, physically I was in great shape after that season, training there, and mentally I just grew as a player. It was a great experience.”
After experiencing the leadership that has helped bring the Foxes consistent success in the past few seasons, Gore also became a leader for RMC. In addition to scoring 20 goals and adding nine assists in 19 games for the Battlin’ Bears, Gore was named the Select Sport America-NAIA Player of the Year.
That led to the call from the MLS Combine, where he was one of the second group of players to be selected last week. On the same squad as former PDL players with distinguished college resumes like Steven Birnbaum and Pedro Ribeiro, Gore is simply looking to enjoy the experience his performance in the PDL helped earn.
“It’s great fun. It’s a step above anything I’ve been used to, so it’s a great experience for me, I’m enjoying being out here, grateful for the opportunity,” Gore said. “I was just very excited to get the chance to play at the level that these boys play at is something that doesn’t come around all the time, especially coming from a small school in Montana.”
As for the MLS SuperDraft, Gore isn’t getting ahead of himself. With two more scrimmages to come on Sunday and Tuesday, there is still work to be done to prove that he belongs in the conversation with his more storied combine teammates.
That being said, the thought of hearing his name be called next Thursday in Philadelphia is one that brings a smile to Gore’s face.
“Words can’t really describe it, it would be an amazing experience,” Gore said. “I’m just happy to be here, I’ve not got my hopes up of getting drafted, but we’ll see what happens.”