Nov. 29, 2006

NEW YORK - North Carolina men's soccer standouts Corey Ashe, Michael Harrington and Justin Hughes are on the initial list of 58 college seniors selected to participate in the 2007 adidas Major League Soccer Player Combine the league announced Wednesday. The Tar Heels are one of just three schools sending a trio players to the annual combine set for Jan. 5-8, 2007 at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

The coaching staffs and general managers from all 13 MLS teams will be in attendance to scout talent at the 2007 adidas MLS Player Combine, which concludes four days before the 2007 MLS SuperDraft. The 2007 MLS SuperDraft will be held on Friday, Jan. 12, 2007 in Indianapolis, Ind., in conjunction with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Convention at the Indiana Convention Center. Of the 48 players selected in the four rounds of the 2006 MLS SuperDraft, 23 had participated in the 2006 adidas MLS Player Combine.

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 2007 adidas Player Combine. These players will be announced in the near future.

The 2007 adidas MLS Player Combine will separate all players into four teams and feature doubleheaders at Lockhart Stadium on Jan. 5, 6 and 8. Each team will be coached by one of the following four college coaches: John Trask (University of Illinois at Chicago), John Rennie (Duke University), Mike Noonan (Brown University) and Greg Andrulis (George Mason University). Players will arrive on Jan. 4 and participate in organizational training sessions that same afternoon. The Sheraton Ft. Lauderdale Airport Hotel will serve as the official headquarters of the adidas MLS Player Combine and the host hotel for players and coaching staffs.

Ashe, Harrington and Hughes were a part of seven-man senior class at Carolina that won a combined 50 games and made four trips to the NCAA Tournament. Fellow Atlantic Coast Conference schools Clemson and Wake Forest are the only other programs to send more than two players to the combine.