Dec. 13, 2007

EVANSTON, Ill. - Major League Soccer has announced that Northwestern midfielder David Roth is among the 54 collegiate seniors invited to participate in the 2008 adidas MLS Combine to be held at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Jan. 11-15, 2008. In addition, Wildcat head coach Tim Lenahan will serve as the coach for one of the four teams at the combine.

"David has been one of the best players in college soccer for the last four years and it is a well-earned reward to play at the MLS Combine," Lenahan said. "Even with all the great players there, I think he will shine with his ability and personality."

Roth was a two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection and was once named to the second team. He completed his Northwestern career as the school's all-time leader with 32 career assists while ranking third with 70 total points.

The 54 invited individuals hail from 33 different NCAA Division I institutions. The 2008 adidas MLS Player Combine will separate all players into four teams and feature two games per day at Lockhart Stadium on Jan. 12, 13, and 15.

The initial list of players for this year's combine was determined by a select panel of Division I college coaches representing all conferences who nominated and voted for players in conjunction with MLS coaches. Youth players from the Generation adidas program will join additional collegiate players from NCAA Division II and III schools, NAIA schools and Division I alternates to finalize the 2008 adidas Player Combine. These players will be announced in the upcoming weeks.

Roth is one of five Big Ten players invited to participate in the event. He is joined by goalkeeper Casey Latchem, defender Eric Brunner and forward Xavier Balc of Ohio State and defender Rauwshan McKenzie of Michigan State.

Meanwhile, Lenahan will head up Team Trofeo. He will be joined by Duke assistant head coach (Team Predator PowerServe), Boston College head coach Ed Kelly (Team adiTunit) and Denver head coach Bobby Muuss (Team adiPure) as the collegiate coaches assigned to the four squads. Each team will also be assigned a youth coach to be named at a later date.

"It is an honor for me to be selected to coach at the Combine," said Lenahan. "The opportunity to be around and coach the nation's best college players is truly something I am looking forward to next month."

2008 ADIDAS MLS PLAYER COMBINE LIST BY POSITION

GOALKEEPERS (5): Dominic Cervi (University of Tulsa); Brian Edwards (Wake Forest University); Andrew Kartunen (Stanford University); Casey Latchem (Ohio State University); Steve Sandbo (Southern Methodist University);

DEFENDERS (19): Scott Bolkan (Stanford University); Matthew Britner (Brown University); Eric Brunner (Ohio State University); Adrian Chevannes (Southern Methodist University); Sean Franklin (California State University Northridge); Matt Hatzke (Santa Clara University); David Horst (Old Dominion University); Andy Iro (University of California - Santa Barbara); Julius James (University of Connecticut); Jonathan Leathers (Furman University); Rauwshan McKenzie (Michigan State University); Ryan Miller (University of Notre Dame); Brandon Owens (University of California - Los Angeles); Andre Sherard (University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill); Julian Valentin (Wake Forest University); Yomby William (Old Dominion University); David Worthen (University of North Carolina - Greensboro); Mike Zaher (University of Tulsa); Geoff Cameron (University of Rhode Island);

MIDFIELDERS (23): Jeremy Barlow (University of Virginia); Eric Burkholder (University of Tulsa); El Hadj Cisse (North Carolina State University); Hugh Cronin (North Carolina State University); Pavle Dundjer (University of Illinois - Chicago); Joe Germanese (Duke University); Brian Grazier (Saint Louis University); Pat Healy (Towson University); Andrew Jacobson (University of California); George Josten (Gonzaga University); Stephen King (University of Maryland); AJ Kulp (Old Dominion University); Peter Lowry (Santa Clara University); Ryan Maduro (Providence College); Pat Phelan (Wake Forest University); David Roth (Northwestern University); Shea Salinas (Furman University); Luke Sassano (University of California); Ben Shuleva (Southern Methodist University); Dan Stratford (West Virginia University); Michael Videira (Duke University); Andy Wright (University of West Virginia); Cesar Zambrano (University of Illinois -Chicago);

FORWARDS (7): Ely Allen (University of Washington); Xavier Balc (Ohio State University); Ryan Cordeiro (University of Connecticut); Kevin Forrest (University of Washington); Joseph Lapira (University of Notre Dame); Sherron Manswell (Boston College); Lukasz Turnicz (University of Rhode Island)