Ricky Lopez-Espin and Lucas Stauffer Invited To 2018 MLS adidas Player Combine
12/22/2017 9:18:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Combine will take place Jan. 11-17 at Orlando City Stadium
OMAHA, Neb. -- Former Creighton men's soccer players Ricky Lopez-Espin and Lucas Stauffer were included on the initial list of 60 NCAA Division I college players invited to participate in the 2018 MLS adidas Player Combine in Orlando, Major League Soccer announced on Thursday.
The combine will take place Jan. 11-17 at Orlando City Stadium. All 23 MLS clubs will have scouts at the event in preparation for the MLS SuperDraft, which is set for Jan. 19 in Philadelphia.Â
A committee of MLS coaches and NCAA Division I coaches from every conference selected the invitees, all of whom completed their college eligibility this season.Â
Lopez-Espin earned a spot on the United Soccer Coaches All-Great Lakes Region First Team, while Stauffer made the All-Region Second Team.Â
Lopez-Espin, the 2017 Co-BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, led the BIG EAST in points and goals during the regular season. The Miami, Florida, native scored 11 goals and added three assists to total 25 points during 17 regular-season matches.  The senior also paced the conference with 15 points and seven goals during BIG EAST contests. The co-captain ended his career with 30 goals to take over sole possession of eighth place on Creighton's career goals list. Lopez-Espin made the All-Great Lakes Region Second Team last season.Â
Stauffer, an Owensboro, Kentucky, native, tallied 10 points from two goals and six assists while playing a team-high 1,550 minutes during the 2017 season. The senior defender played 86 career matches and started the final 67 contests of his four-year playing career. He also made the All-BIG EAST First Team twice, including during 2017.
Below is a complete list of the 60 players invited to the combine.
The combine will take place Jan. 11-17 at Orlando City Stadium. All 23 MLS clubs will have scouts at the event in preparation for the MLS SuperDraft, which is set for Jan. 19 in Philadelphia.Â
A committee of MLS coaches and NCAA Division I coaches from every conference selected the invitees, all of whom completed their college eligibility this season.Â
Lopez-Espin earned a spot on the United Soccer Coaches All-Great Lakes Region First Team, while Stauffer made the All-Region Second Team.Â
Lopez-Espin, the 2017 Co-BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, led the BIG EAST in points and goals during the regular season. The Miami, Florida, native scored 11 goals and added three assists to total 25 points during 17 regular-season matches.  The senior also paced the conference with 15 points and seven goals during BIG EAST contests. The co-captain ended his career with 30 goals to take over sole possession of eighth place on Creighton's career goals list. Lopez-Espin made the All-Great Lakes Region Second Team last season.Â
Stauffer, an Owensboro, Kentucky, native, tallied 10 points from two goals and six assists while playing a team-high 1,550 minutes during the 2017 season. The senior defender played 86 career matches and started the final 67 contests of his four-year playing career. He also made the All-BIG EAST First Team twice, including during 2017.
Below is a complete list of the 60 players invited to the combine.
2018 MLS Combine InviteesÂ
Alphabetical by last name
| Player | School | Position | Hometown/Citizenship |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marcelo Acuna | Virginia Tech | F | San Jose, Costa Rica; Costa Rica |
| Pablo Aguilar | Virginia | M | Guatemala City, Guatemala; Guatemala/USA |
| Rafael Andrade Santos | VCU | M/F | Rio de Janiero, Brazil; Brazil |
| Will Bagrou | Mercer | F | Dacula, GA; USA |
| Jon Bakero | Wake Forest | F | Sitges, Spain; Spain |
| Pau Belana | Akron | M | Barcelona, Spain; Spain |
| Tristan Blackmon | Pacific | D | Las Vegas, NV; USA |
| Arthur Bosua | Columbia | F | Johannesburg, South Africa; South Africa |
| Cory Brown | Xavier | D | Nelson, New Zealand; New Zealand |
| Brandon Bye | Western Michigan | D/F | Portage, MI; USA |
| Jeff Caldwell | Virginia | GK | Todd, NC; USA |
| Pol Calvet Planellas | Pittsburgh | D | Barcelona, Spain; Spain |
| George Campbell | Maryland | D | Baltimore, MD; USA |
| Paul Christensen | Portland | GK | Woodinville, WA; USA |
| Harry Cooksley | St. John's | M/F | London, England; UK |
| Manuel Cordeiro | Akron | M | Porto, Portugal; Portugal |
| Niko DeVera | Akron | D | Camas, WA; USA |
| Eric Dick | Butler | GK | Carmel, IN; USA |
| Justin Fiddes | Washington | D | San Diego, CA; USA |
| Markus Fjortoft | Duke | D | Asker, Norway; Norway |
| Sam Gainford | Akron | F |
Liverpool, England; UK |
| Jon Gallagher | Notre Dame | F | Dundalk, Ireland; Ireland |
| Giovanni Godoy | UC Irvine | F | Watsonville, CA; USA |
| Mamadou Guirassy | NJIT | F | Paris, France; France/USA |
| Tomas Hilliard-Arce | Stanford | D | Matthews, NC; USA |
| Brian Iloski | UCLA | M | Escondido, CA; USA |
| Jordan Jones | Oregon State | F | Pacific Grove, CA; USA |
| Ken Krolicki | Michigan State | M | Plymouth, MI; USA/Japan |
| Tim Kubel | Louisville | D/M | Stuttgart, Germany; Germany |
| Chris Lema | Georgetown | M | Ridgefield, NJ; USA |
| Ricky Lopez-Espin | Creighton | F | Miami, FL; USA |
| Ben Lundgaard | Virginia Tech | GK | Greenville, DE; USA |
| Carter Manley | Duke | D | Elkridge, MD; USA |
| Paul Marie | FIU | D | Saint-Aubin-des-Bois, France; France/USA |
| Andre Morrison | Hartford | D | Clarendon, Jamaica; Jamaica |
| Chris Mueller | Wisconsin | F | Schaumburg, IL; USA |
| Danny Musovski | UNLV | F | Henderson, NV; USA |
| Michael Nelson | SMU | GK | Katy, TX; USA |
| Wyatt Omsberg | Dartmouth | D | Scarborough, ME; USA |
| AJ Paterson | Wright State | M | Key Largo, FL; USA |
| Frantzdy Pierrot | Coastal Carolina | F | Boston, MA; USA |
| Afonso Pinheiro | Albany | F | Sao Paulo, Brazil; Brazil |
| Matias Pyysalo | UCF | M/F | Helsinki, Finland; Finland |
| Alex Roldan | Seattle | M | Pico Rivera, CA; USA/El Salvador |
| Jake Rozhansky | Maryland | M | Germantown, MD; USA |
| Albert Ruiz | FGCU | F | Barcelona, Spain; Spain |
| Rafael Sanchez | Saint Mary's | D/M | Selah, WA; USA |
| Leon Schwarzer | San Francisco | M | Munster, Germany; Germany |
| Mark Segbers | Wisconsin | D/F | St. Louis, MO; USA |
| Oliver Shannon | Clemson | M | Liverpool, England; UK |
| Nate Shultz | Akron | D | Mayfield, OH; USA |
| Drew Skundrich | Stanford | M | Lancaster, PA; USA |
| Graham Smith | Denver | M | Highlands Ranch, CO; USA |
| Lucas Stauffer | Creighton | D | Owensboro, KY; USA |
| Mac Steeves | Providence | F | Needham, MA; USA |
| Mohamed Thiaw | Louisville | F | Lexington, KY; USA |
| Brian White | Duke | M/F | Flemington, NJ; USA |
| Ben White | Gonzaga | D | Tigard, OR; USA |
| Alan Winn | UNC | F | Garland, TX; USA |
| Jason Wright | Clemson | F | Kingston, Jamaica; Jamaica |
Players Mentioned
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