Joel Rydstrand and Akeem Ward Invited To 2019 adidas MLS Player Combine

OMAHA, Neb. -- Creighton men's soccer's Joel Rydstrand and Akeem Ward were each listed on the initial list of 60 college players players invited to participate in the 2019 adidas MLS Player Combine, Major League Soccer announced on Thursday afternoon.

Top collegiate players from across the country will showcase their talents in front of representatives from all 24 MLS clubs in Orlando, Fla. from Jan. 3-9, 2019. All invited players will be eligible for selection in the 2019 SuperDraft presented by adidas which will take place at 12 p.m. ET on Friday, Jan. 11 in Chicago's McCormick Place in conjunction with the United Soccer Coaches Convention

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. Further invitees including Generation adidas signings, non-collegiate players, and additional college seniors will be announced in the coming weeks.

Rydstrand, the 2018 BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year, led the Bluejays in assists for the third consecutive season with five during 18 starts in 2018. He posted 23 helpers during his career, good enough for 11th on Creighton's individual career assists list. The Almunge, Sweden, native played 82 matches in a Bluejay uniform, including 81 starts. Rydstrand also earned a spot on the 2018 United Soccer Coaches All-East Region Second Team.

Ward, a United Soccer Coaches All-East Region First Team selection, started all 18 matches for the Bluejays, and ranked third on the team with eight points from two goals and four assists. Each of his goals were game-winning tallies, as Creighton went 5-0-0 during matches in which Ward recorded a goal or assist. The Vienna, Virginia, native earned BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honors twice, and a spot on the Top Drawer Soccer Men's Team of the Week on Aug. 28.

Rydstrand and Ward give Creighton two players on the initial list for the second consecutive year as Ricky Lopez-Espin and Lucas Stauffer each received invitations to the 2018 combine. Lopez-Espin and Stauffer were each selected during the second round of the 2018 MLS SuperDraft.

One finalist and four additional semifinalists for the 2018 Men's MAC Hermann Trophy headline this year's list of initial invitees. University of Denver forward Andre Shinyashiki is one of three finalists for the MAC Hermann Trophy given to the top collegiate player every season. Joining Shinyashiki as semifinalists for the award are Air Force midfielder Tucker Bone, North Carolina defender Alex Comsia, Charlotte defender Callum Montgomery and Pacific midfielder Camden Riley.

The 2018 NCAA Champions University of Maryland send four standouts to the 2019 adidas MLS Player Combine in forward Sebastian Elney, midfielder Amar Sejdic and defenders Chase Gasper and Andrew Samuels. Defender Abdi Mohammed and goalkeeper Ben Lundt will attend Combine from NCAA Champion runner-up Akron, while semifinalist Michigan State is represented by forwards DeJuan Jones and Ryan Sierakowski, and goalkeeper Jimmy Hague. Rounding out this year's College Cup participants, Indiana University sends defender Rece Buckmaster to the Combine. The lone representative from 2015-2017 NCAA champion Stanford University is forward Amir Bashti.

Creighton is one of four BIG EAST schools with at least one player listed (also Marquette, Georgetown, Providence), and the only school with multiple selections.

Media interested in covering the 2019 adidas MLS Player Combine can CLICK HERE to apply for a credential. The deadline to apply is Monday, Dec. 17. Any questions should be directed to Paul.Ochoa@MLSsoccer.com.

Below is a complete list of the 60 college players invited.

2019 adidas MLS Player Combine College Participants
(Alphabetical by last name)

First Name	Last Name	School	Pos.	Hometown	Citizenship	Bio
Anderson	Asiedu	UCLA	MF	Dormaa Ahenkro, Ghana	Ghana	Bio
Louis	Barraza	Marquette University	GK	Santa Teresa, N.M.	USA	Bio
Amir	Bashti	Stanford University	FW	Cupertino, Calif.	USA	Bio
Jakov	Basic	Univ. of Massachusetts-Lowell	MF	Zagreb, Croatia	Croatia	Bio
Tucker	Bone	Air Force Academy	MF	Granite Bay, Calif.	USA	Bio
Marcello	Borges	University of Michigan	DF	Kearny, N.J.	USA	Bio
Sam	Brown	Harvard University	MF	Ann Arbor, Mich.	USA	Bio
Nils	Bruening	Univ. of North Carolina-Chapel Hill	FW	Hamsburg, Germany	Germany	Bio
Rece	Buckmaster	Indiana University	DF	Auburn, Ind.	USA	Bio
Pat	Bunk-Andersen	Clemson University	DF	Copenhagen, Denmark	Denmark	Bio
Mamadi	Camara	Simon Fraser University	FW	Montreal, Quebec	Canada	Bio
Dylan	Castenheira	Columbia University	GK	Landing, N.J.	USA	Bio
Kyle	Coffee	University of Washington	FW	Syracuse, Utah	USA	Bio
Alex	Comsia	Univ. of North Carolina-Chapel Hill	DF	North Vancouver, BC	Canada	Bio
Emil	Cuello	Southern Methodist University	MF	Orem, Utah	USA	Bio
Geoffrey	Dee	University of Louisville	MF	Germantown, Tenn.	USA	Bio
Hugo	Delhomeele	Syracuse University	MF	Rennes, France	France	Bio
Hassani	Dotson	Oregon State University	MF	Federal Way, Wash.	USA	Bio
Brad	Dunwell	Wake Forest University	MF	Grand Rapids, Mich.	USA	Bio
Sebastian	Elney	University of Maryland	FW	Boca Raton, Fla.	USA	Bio
Simon	Enstrom	Boston College	FW	Huddinge, Sweden	Sweden	Bio
Prosper	Figbe	University of Virginia	DF	Ilorin, Nigeria	Nigeria	Bio
Chase	Gasper	University of Maryland	DF	Alexandria, Va.	USA	Bio
Logan	Gdula	Wake Forest University	DF	East Lyme, Conn.	USA	Bio
Dylan	Greenberg	University of Connecticut	DF	Dix Hills, N.Y.	USA	Bio
Jimmy	Hague	Michigan State University	GK	Walled Lake, Mich.	USA	Bio
Jacob	Hauser-Ramsey	University of Connecticut	DF	Seattle, Wash.	USA	Bio
Lennart	Hein	Saint Louis University	DF	Hamburg, Germany	Germany	Bio
DeJuan	Jones	Michigan State University	FW	Lansing, Mich.	USA	Bio
Shinya	Kadono	University of California	FW	Irvine, Calif.	Japan/USA	Bio
Kervin	Kenton Fadel	Coastal Carolina University	DF	San Jose, Costa Rica	Costa Rica	Bio
Janos	Loebe	Fordham University	FW	Kierspe, Germany	Germany	Bio
Ben	Lundt	University of Akron	GK	Berlin, Germany	Germany	Bio
Abdu	Mbacke Thiam	University of Connecticut	FW	Dakar, Senegal	Senegal	Bio
Tommy	McCabe	University of Notre Dame	MF	South Orange, N.J.	USA	Bio
Brendan	McDonough	Georgetown University	DF	Matthews, N.C.	USA	Bio
Robbie	Mertz	University of Michigan	MF	Pittsburgh, Pa.	USA	Bio
Colin	Miller	Providence College	GK	Bel Air, Md.	USA	Bio
Kamal	Miller	Syracuse University	DF	Pickering, Ontario	Canada	Bio
Abdi	Mohammed	University of Akron	DF	Westerville, Ohio	USA	Bio
Callum	Montgomery	UNC Charlotte	DF	Victoria, BC	Canada	Bio
Rashid	Nuhu	Fordham University	GK	Accra, Ghana	Ghana	Bio
Mitchell	Osmand	University of Rio Grande	DF	Sydney, Australia	Australia	Bio
Santiago	Patino	Florida International University	FW	Orlando, Fla.	USA	Bio
Javi	Perez	University of Pittsburgh	MF	Valencia, Spain	Spain	Bio
Moshe	Perez	University of Denver	MF	Shim'a, Israel	Israel	Bio
Joey	Piatczyc	West Virginia University	MF	Lee's Summit, Mo.	USA	Bio
James	Pyle	Univ. of North Carolina-Chapel Hill	GK	Charlotte, N.C.	USA	Bio
Camden	Riley	University of the Pacific	MF	Dallas, Texas	USA	Bio
Sergio	Rivas	Seattle University	MF	Albuquerque, N.M.	USA	Bio
Joel	Rydstrand	Creighton University	MF	Almunge, Sweden	Sweden	Bio
Andrew	Samuels	University of Maryland	DF	Tampa, Fla.	USA	Bio
Amar	Sejdic	University of Maryland	MF	Louisville, Ky.	USA	Bio
Andre	Shinyashiki	University of Denver	FW	Sao Paulo, Brazil	Brazil	Bio
Ryan	Sierakowski	Michigan State University	FW	McHenry, Ill.	USA	Bio
Harry	Swartz	Northeastern University	FW	Needham, Mass.	USA	Bio
Don	Tchilao	Oregon State University	FW	Chandler, Ariz.	Benin	Bio
Thomas	Ueland	University of Notre Dame	FW	Lexington, Ky.	USA	Bio
Wouter	Verstraaten	University of the Pacific	DF	Heeze, Netherlands	Netherlands	Bio
Akeem	Ward	Creighton University	DF	Vienna, Va.	USA	Bio

Joel Rydstrand and Akeem Ward Invited To 2019 adidas MLS Player Combine

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