Don't be fooled when Tony Tchani speaks softly and succinctly. It doesn't reflect the take-no-prisoners attitude he exhibits when he steps onto the field.
Tchani, the 6'4", 185 lb. central midfielder out of Virginia, who starred on the Cavaliers' way to lifting the College Cup, grasps control of the match from the opening whistle. The quiet, unassuming 20-year-old ran the show at the MLS Player Combine, stamping his sizeable footprint on each game and dictating the flow of play seemingly without having to push his game to another gear.
Considering his performance among a distinguished group of college standouts, it's easy to see why Tchani felt two years of seasoning in Charlottesville were enough to prepare him for MLS.
"I thought it was the (right) time this year," Tchani said. "We won the ACC. We won the national championship. I thought then that it was the time to leave, right now. I don't want to come back next year and have a bad season. It can hurt."
Tchani's combination of physical tools and consistent production has pushed the Cameroon native to the top of draft boards around the league. Oregon State forward Danny Mwanga dominates the conversation as the likely top overall pick, considering his absence from the Combine and Philadelphia coach Peter Nowak's recent trip to Oregon to persuade Mwanga to sign a MLS deal, but Tchani has earned plenty of buzz as the potential next name off the board.
All of the talk isn't important, Tchani said, because he just wants to play wherever he lands. After all, he prefers to do his speaking on the field.
Morrow, Yates open eyes: While the Combine handed teams another chance to look at expected stars like Tchani, it also provided the opportunity to discover players who didn't enter the Combine with similar hype.
Notre Dame left back Justin Morrow raised his stock considerably after three energetic performances, highlighted by his frequent forays into the attacking third. Morrow's constant industry up and down the left side is a product of his days as a wide midfielder and forward, according to the Fighting Irish midfielder.
"I'm still learning the position," said Morrow, who moved onto the back line at the start of the 2009 campaign. "You always have to get better. That's always a challenge. Once I get the position down, I think I'll do very well."
Maryland midfielder Drew Yates may face a similar positional challenge after piquing interest for his performances as an attacking midfielder at the Combine. The attacking midfield role is generally the dominion of high-priced foreign players in MLS and Yates said a few teams have mentioned that they could see him shifting into a wider role at the next level.
After coming into the Combine with little fanfare despite his ACC pedigree, Yates said he'll do whatever it takes to capitalize on the increased interest created by his showings at the Combine.
"I came in with the attitude that I didn't have anything to lose," said Yates, who also spent time as a winger at Maryland. "I knew there was interest in me, but I didn't have a pre-draft contract or anything like that. I couldn't hurt myself coming in here, so I just wanted to do well without worrying about it too much."
Condivo seals Combine championship with third consecutive victory: Eric Alexander (Indiana) scored his second goal of the Combine a minute before halftime to hand Condivo a 1-0 win over Jabulani.
Alexander took advantage of the ample space granted to him 30 yards from goal and unleashed a blast to the lower left corner to join Andrew Hoxie (William & Mary) atop the Combine goalscoring chart.
The goal capped an even first half in which both sides could have opened the scoring. Condivo forward Bright Dike (Notre Dame) directed his free header straight at Brooks Haggerty (North Carolina) after 11 minutes, while Amobi Okugo (Generation adidas/UCLA) nearly missed the far post after Teal Bunbury (Generation adidas/Akron) squared the ball to him to complete a two-versus one break three minutes later.
Hoxie nearly doubled Condivo's advantage with nine minutes to play after he rose to meet Michael Thomas' (Notre Dame) corner kick at the near post, but Korede Aiyegbusi (N.C. State) cleared the goalbound header off the line.
Condivo ended the Combine with three wins in three matches, while Jabulani (0-2-1) fell to its second consecutive reverse.
McVea header gives F50i second straight win: Tennant McVea's (Loyola-Maryland) header provided the difference as F50i's 1-0 victory handed Predator X its second straight defeat.
The winner arrived after 17 minutes when Conor O'Brien (Bucknell) delivered a dangerous corner kick from the left side. McVea rose highest to meet the tempting service, thumped his header off the underside of the crossbar and watched as the header nestled into the back of the net.
Predator X's best chance for an equalizer arrived seven minutes later. Michael Stephens (UCLA) lashed a long-distance shot off the underside of the crossbar. The effort didn't cross the line, but the rebound deflected kindly to Andre Akpan (Generation adidas/Harvard) at the far post. John Moore (Stanford) reacted quickly to block Akpan's attempts to turn the ball home and level the proceedings.
McVea's winner capped F50i's recovery from an opening day drubbing by Condivo and sealed second place with a 2-1-0 record. Predator X (0-2-1) finished in a tie for third place in the four-team round-robin.
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
