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DAY FOUR: USL PLAYER SHOWCASE
USL News Release

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

The fourth and final day of the 2006 USL Men's Player Showcase presented by UMBRO featured one concluding 70 minute glimpse of the best Premier Development League talent in North America. The majority of the action took place along the sidelines as scouts and teams discussed the future of their organizations and how many of these young prospects could make an impact on their upcoming 2007 season.

The opening match on field three, between team seven and team four attracted the majority of the attention from the early morning scouts. A unanimous decision for top prospect of the tournament, former Augusta Fireball standout and 2006 PDL MVP Frederico Moojen battled a touted defender from Jamaica, Ricky Herron.

"I got a lot of offers out of playing in this combine," said Moojen. "It is the first event like this I have ever been to and after receiving proposals from eight or nine international and domestic clubs it may be the last."

"Playing in Junior College doesn't get you a lot of chances to impress some of the coaching staffs you have at this event," said Herron. "I had butterflies in my stomach the first few matches but I got over it and played well. For a first year event this showcase impressed me. I would come back if I had to but hopefully I preformed well enough to get picked up."

A third spotlight of the same match was PDL Atlanta Silverback winger Mateus Anjos.

"Comparing this event to others I have been to, I would say the level of play was much higher," said Anjos. "When you play against guys just as good as you, you raise your own game just to stand out. This combine also had more scouts. That really opened my eyes."

A prospect with professional experience, midfielder Richard Mupfudze also spoke highly of USL's first year combine.

"Everyone had a fair chance in front of all the coaches," said Mupfudze. "The event as a whole was more organized and efficient. The number of scouts at other events doesn't come close to what we had here. Low scouting numbers at other events did not create many opportunities for underground players to succeed."

"We're obviously very pleased with the outcome of this inaugural event," said USL Men's Player Showcase Director Lee Cohen. "I want to thank UMBRO for enabling us to run an event as successful as this. We trust all attending players, coaches, and scouts had a productive trip. We look forward to hearing their feedback and making this event even more efficient in 2007."

"As a former professional who could have benefited from an event like this in the past, I am glad to see players who would otherwise not get a shot, receive an honest look," said event Co-Director Vicente Bastidas. "North American clubs showed genuine interest in what these players had to offer. The clubs here and soccer in this country will both progress because of this event. That is the goal we had in mind when we started."