This article contains my previous week’s travel to Chicago, Illinois and Fort Wayne, Indiana.  In Chicago, Loyola-Chicago hosted Marquette.  Fort Wayne was the site of the ShindigZ National Soccer Festival which welcomed Wisconsin, Denver, Indiana, Duke, Michigan, Louisville, Northern Illinois, Akron, Creighton, Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne, Xavier and Ohio State in an intimate environment.

I was surprised that Fort Wayne is renowned for good restaurants with inexpensive prices – more on the former than the latter.  After World War II, Fort Wayne manufacturing companies requiring extreme dexterity employed many women enabling a market that people ate dinner in restaurants higher than the norm.  Restaurants won’t be successful unless they serve good food at reasonable (i.e., Fort Wayne) prices.  My recommendation in a word, Casa – yes; Venice – no.  I was actually laughed at when I told the locals about my trip to Venice before asking for a local recommendation.

Just a reminder, this year, I’m concentrating on just a few players at each game.

Chicago, Illinois – Marquette won 2-0 over host Loyola-Chicago from 2 second half goals.

Starting Line-ups:

Marquette: 4-2-3-1. Coach Louis Bennett started a very young team trying to alleviate the young player’s anxiety.  At half-time, he brought in his more experienced players.
F: Andy Huftalin
M: Anthony Selvaggi, Bryan Ciesiulka, Kelmend Islami
DM: James Nortey, Ryan Robb
D: Paul Dillon, John Mau, Axel Sjoberg, Dennis Holowaty
GK: Charlie Lyon

Loyola-Chicago: 4-4-2
F: Brian Bement, Erick Nock
M: Enrique Garcia, Justin Koehler, Eric Marofske, Tanner Nebbia
D: Emilio Benbassat, Erik Warren, Reed Patterson, Alex Wynne
GK: Peter McKeown

Marquette Observations:

I primarily came to watch senior right-footed defensive midfielder Calum Mallace play.  When he didn’t start, I was a little concerned that he might be injured, so I selected some alternative players to observe.  I was greatly relieved when he entered the game midway through the first half.

His heart and his willingness to defend with purpose are his best attributes.  He’s a tall player although slight he has the strength and tracking ability to win more than his share of balls in the air.  What he lacks in quickness, he makes up with guile and determination.  He’s one of the few college players that run back harder than going forward.  I’d like to see him support the attackers in the final third more rather than settling for keeping the center backs company.  Although Coach Bennett remarked that Mallace may not have as much freedom going forward at the next level. Mallace has exceptional vision that he utilizes for precise above-average passing both long and short.  Coach Bennett states that he is one of the most fit players and he has achieved a 16.9 in the dreaded beep test.  

Mallace received a throw-in and delivered a ball that cleared the Loyola-Chicago defender but found his teammate Amilcar Herrera who tapped in the ball.  Originally from Scotland, Mallace has recently gained his US citizenship after living in the states since he was 12.

Freshman center back Axel Sjoberg is an imposing player who is one of the tallest players in college soccer.  The roster had Sjoberg at 5’ 7” which I initially thought was Coach Bennett’s gamesmanship – turned out to be nothing but a typo, because he’s 6’ 7”.  With his frame, he’s a target on attacking pieces.  Sjoberg is adept at flicking the ball on to the far post in these situations.  The Swedish Sjoberg is a right-footed player.  He frequently uses his arms and strength to defend rather than moving his feet because, he has problems marking quick players.  In the second half, Sjoberg while under considerable pressure deep against his end line, he dragged the ball with his right foot into the corner and sent the ball accurately up the sideline.  Not surprisingly as a freshman, he had problems marking during defensive set pieces.  He is someone to watch as he develops.

Another freshman that caught my eye is Kelmend Islami.  He has exceptional quickness.  I like the way that he moves off the ball into spaces.  Islami can pass accurately while running at top-speed.  He made several dangerous crosses in the first half with his favored right foot.  Islami needs to improve his fitness – he tends to take breaks at inopportune times – like when he should be tracking back to defend.  Lastly, at only 5’5”, he may be challenged by larger players.  I’m hoping that he’ll continue to grow.

Loyola-Chicago Observations:

Senior right footed goal keeper Peter McKeown at 6’ 6” is a presence in the goal mouth.  He strikes long punts covering ¾ of the Loyola field.  Early in the first half, he called for a ball but he lost concentration and ball struck him in his chest.  He was able to recover the ball.  McKeown successfully wrangled a long shot that took a short hop in front of him.  I didn’t care for his positioning on Marquette’s Anthony Selvaggi volley for distance.  McKeown is an adequate college keeper, but I’m skeptical that he has enough tools for MLS.

Senior midfielder Eric Marofske is an electric player with brilliant dribbling skills and sophomore midfielder Enrique Garcia is composed heady technical player.  I wasn’t concentrating on them, but worth taking a look at if given another opportunity.

Fort Wayne, Indiana – Draw 0-0 between Denver and Wisconsin.  

Starting Line-ups:

Denver: 4-2-3-1
F: Joe Eubanks
M: Jarod Stigall, Kellan Christensen, Alex Tarnoczi
DM: Drew Beckie, Mark Weigand
D: Blake Shannon, Blair Jeralds, Theodor Remman, Jack Henderson
GK: Oliver Brown

Wisconsin: 4-4-1-1
F: Josh Thiermann
W/D F: Tomislav Zadro
M: Jerry Maddi, Nick Janus, Blake Succa, Chris Prince
D: AJ Cochran, Kyle McCrudden, Colin Mani, Arnel Zahirovic
GK: Ciro Martinez

Denver Observations:

Senior left-footed Jarod Stigall is average size and strength with above average pace and quickness.  Stigall reads the game well.  For example, in the first half, he realized that a back pass to the Wisconsin goalkeeper Ciro Martinez was going to be pressured by a Denver forward.  Stigall moved to a supportive defensive position and picked off Martinez’s poor clearance.  He squared the ball and moved to an overlapping position - very nice sequence.

In the 8th minute, Stigall cleanly first-time struck from the top of the box from a junior Alex Tarnoczi corner kick.  The shot was wide, but it demonstrated Stigall’s exceptional technique. He links with his teammates effectively.  He was able to draw a foul outside of the box in the 85th minute with a slicing run.

In the heat of the first half, Stigall didn’t work hard on the defensive side of the ball.  He was better coming off the bench in the second half.  Stigall needs to continue to inject much more energy into the game whenever on the field if he desires to move to the next level.

Wisconsin Observations:

Red-shirt senior Josh Thiermann is a tireless attacker with desire that unfortunately exceeds his talent.  Thiermann, a Notre Dame transfer, understands how to play the game: productively running off the ball with adequate vision and linkage play.  He has a thick body with adequate speed for the college game, but he lacks the athletic ability for the next level. In the second half, Thiermann was able to stay onside on a through ball, but wasn’t able to separate from the defender to produce.  Thiermann made a poor pass to a freshman in the first half.  Rather than taking responsibility for the play, he yelled at the freshman.  Thiermann is a right footed forward who probably will need to play defense to be able to play at the next level.

I was very disappointed in the effort of sophomore right midfielder Chris Prince in the first half.  Perhaps the heat was taking a toll, but he looked like he was running in quicksand.  No acceleration, no pace.  It was like this was the first time that he played and he was awestruck.  He moved better in the second half off the bench.  But, Prince needs to be on his game every second.  He can’t afford to take breaks.  The other possibility is that his legs are exhausted from the preseason rigors.  For example, they had a 2 ½ hour practice yesterday morning.

Prince combines well and he is a quick and accurate passer.  His control on short passing in tight areas is exceptional.  Prince is calm on the ball.  In the 84th minute, he used his strength to fend off a defender near the Denver end line.  The defender brought Prince down and was called for the foul.  Prince punched the defender in the face – Prince is too valuable to Wisconsin to let his emotions get away from him.  Prince has the talent that requires continued observation.

Junior Tomislav Zadro is an interesting creative player that deserves a more detailed assessment in the future.

Fort Wayne, Indiana – Duke and Indiana tied 1-1.

Starting Line-ups:

Duke: 4-4-1-1
F: Andrew Wenger
W/D F: Christopher Tweed-Kent
M: Joe Pak, Nick Palodichuk, Rob Dolot, Andrew Morales
D: Jonathan Aguirre, Sebastien Ibeagha, Alex Sauciuc, Riley Wolfe
GK: James Belshaw

Indiana: 4-2-3-1
F: Eriq Zavaleta
M: Alec Purdie, Harrison Petts, Blake Wise
DM: Jacob Bushue, A. J. Corrado
D: Chris Estridge, Caleb Konstanski, Tommy Meyer, Jamie Vollmer
GK: Luis Soffner

Duke Observations:

Senior right-footed withdrawn forward Christopher Tweed-Kent sits behind the talented junior Andrew Wenger providing clever entry passes from looping passes, heel flicks and subtle passes. In the 27th minute, Tweed-Kent picked up a Wenger rebound but couldn’t finish from 6 yards.  Tweet-Kent has a better than average left foot in passing, shooting and receiving the ball.  He has a slight body and plays soft at times.  I don’t project that he’ll be a MLS player, but I would expect that he could play in USL.

Wenger is a talented player that is excelling at forward this year after moving back last year to center back.  He scored a scintillating goal in the 60th minute.  He took a pass from Tweed-Kent at the top of the box close to the right sideline dragging it behind him to straddle the penalty area before hooking it around his marker into the side netting.  Later, Wenger had another hooking shot that was cleared off the line by Tommy Meyer to preserve the draw for Indiana.  I wasn’t concentrating on Wenger, but it’s hard not to enjoy his game.  His head is always up; he’s willing to beat people on the dribble and to distribute the ball when advantageous.  Wenger turns on a dime, accelerating into the space.  His play reminds me of Chris Pontius (now with DC United and formerly UCSB) when Pontius was a senior a couple of years ago.

I like Wenger’s leadership.  For example, Sebastien Ibeagha was getting distracted with some extracurricular activities with an Indiana opponent.  Wenger ran back and encouraged Ibeagha to refocus.  Another example, after the game, Wenger instructed the other players to police the area around the bench.  It isn’t a technical skill, but another indication of the quality of the player. With Wenger’s positional versatility and his talent, he’s going to be a valuable prize for some lucky MLS team – assuming that he doesn’t return for his senior season.

Indiana Observations:

Senior left back Chris Estridge was the second best player of the evening (Wenger was better).  His acceleration is simply jaw-dropping quick.  In the 35th minute, Estridge created the goal starting in a deep position with a darting run through the Duke defenders.  Right before falling in the box, he weakly squared the ball to sophomore Harrison Petts 15 yards from goal and Petts finished the shot.  Estridge is so good with both feet; it was difficult to distinguish his primary foot.  He acknowledged post-game that he works very hard on his left foot, but that he’s right footed.  In the 80th minute, he took another long run getting 1v1 with the goalkeeper, but his shot was poor.  Estridge is a competent defender with average height and a slight body.  He needs to continue to improve on his 1v1 defending stressing technique over athleticism.  The worst part of his game is his receding hairline. The exclusion of Estridge from my top 100 seniors is a glaring omission that I’ll need to rectify.

Senior right footed center back Tommy Meyers is an outstanding defender who reads the game exceptionally – anticipating the play.  He is a solid tackler.  Meyers headed a potential Duke game winning goal off the goal line.  Meyers is technically adept and extremely composed with the ball at his feet under pressure.  Meyers is going to be successful at the next level.

Right footed forward Alec Purdie earned a penalty kick knocking the ball off a static Duke defender’s arm.  It wasn’t a definitive penalty kick call – the arm was out but not moving – I’ve seen it called both ways.  Purdie’s penalty kick was stopped by Duke junior goalkeeper James Belshaw (I saw him stop 2 penalties against Louisville last year) because the shot was not tucked far enough into the left side netting.  Purdie had several nice opportunities but his shots were off-target.  I came away unconvinced that he’s the answer to the scoring absence created by Will Bruin departure.  Purdie uses his body and strength well on physical challenges.  He is an above-average passer.

Fort Wayne, Indiana – With light showers at the beginning of the game and the sun burning through by half-time, Louisville dominated Michigan 2-0.

Starting Line-ups:

Louisville: 4-2-3-1
F: Coin Rolfe
M: Nick DeLeon, Paolo DelPiccolo, Ryan Smith
DM: Andrew Farrell, Kenney Walker
D: Greg Cochrane, Chase Rodgers, Austin Berry, Brock Granger
GK: Andre Boudreaux

Michigan: 4-4-2
F: Malcolm Miller, Tyler Arnon
M: Noble Sullivan, Latif Alashe, Adam Shaw, Dylan Mencia
D: Luca Schioppe, Kofi Opare, Brian Klemczak, Ezekiel Harris
GK: Adam Grinwis

Louisville Observations:

Senior Austin Berry is a dominating force in the air.  Louisville moves him into the midfield to defend goal kicks – similar to what Maryland used to do with Omar Gonzalez.  Berry communicates with his teammates effectively – transitioning from a corner kick into defensive, he was barking instructions while he hustled back.  This year, he’s slimmed down and he looks very fit.  Berry is a good short passer who doesn’t get frazzled under pressure.  Berry is a target on set pieces in the attack.

Colin Rolfe was instrumental in linking with Nick DeLeon in the insurance goal; taking a DeLeon pass and freeing him with a super first touch that DeLeon crushed with his left foot.  Rolfe didn’t get on the scorecard, but helped Louisville with subtle things, such as pressuring the ball high.  Rolfe needs to be tighter with his first touch and eliminate wild turns where he loses the ball.  Also, he needs to finish his chances.  This wasn’t Rolfe’s best match.

DeLeon looks more powerful this year – I’ll be watching him much more closely against UCLA.  Andrew Farrell is a raw player that could become a very good player within the next year or so.

Michigan Observations:

Junior center back Kofi Opare is a solid performer in the air and he relishes contact.  Opare made several key tackles.  He is essential in the back for Michigan to be successful.  I’d like to see more of his ball skills in the future.

Senior defensive midfielder Adam Shaw is adept at moving the ball quickly side-to-side.  He’s very small, but he is willing to get involved in the middle of the field.  I’m concerned if he has the size to be successful at the next level.  I like his ball control. Shaw allowed Farrell to dribble past him in the first half causing havoc in the back.
Red-shirt freshman goalkeeper Adam Grinwis kept Michigan in the game with some fine goalkeeping.  I doubt that he’s 6’0” unless he’s wearing high heels or a tall hat.

Northern Illinois Observation:

I wasn’t watching Northern Illinois beat Michigan State 2-1, but I did catch freshman Isaac Kannah blister the ball past the Michigan State goalkeeper.  Every time that I looked up Kannah was creating havoc for MSU.  Kannah is someone to continue to monitor.  I expect that NIU fans will enjoy watching him play.

Fort Wayne, Indiana – Akron and Creighton drew 1-1 in a high energy contest.

Starting Line-ups:

Akron: 4-1-4-1
F: Darren Mattocks
M: Eric Stevenson, Scott Caldwell, Wil Trapp, Aodhan Quinn
DM: Michael Balogun
D: DeAndre Yedlin, Chad Barson, Bryan Gallego, Reinaldo Brenes
GK: David Meves

Creighton: 4-1-4-1
F: Liam Kelly
M: Kris Clark, Jose Gomez, Andrew Ribeiro, Jose Ribas
DM: Greg Jordan
D: Tyler Polak, Andrew Duran, Jace Peters, Eric Miller
GK: Brian Holt

Akron Observations:

Sophomore forward Darren Mattocks scored the lone goal.  He was released by a through pass by junior midfielder Scott Caldwell that Mattocks stroked past Creighton goalkeeper Brian Holt.  Freshman Eric Miller held Mattocks onside.  Mattocks was offside 4 times before timing his run (and/or getting the ball quicker).  Mattocks is an honest player that will defend high and track back to defend or to maintain possession.  With his lightning quickness, he’s a danger to get behind defenses.  Mattocks needs to tighten up his first touch – specifically his chest traps.  I expect that this will be Mattocks last year before he accepts a Generation Adidas contract.

Senior defensive midfielder Michael Balogun continues to improve every time that I see him play.  In the 22nd minute, Balogun made a nifty first touch drawing the ball away from pressure.  However, his pass was poor resulting in a turnover. He did the same thing later in the first half, good turn/bad pass.  He needs to improve on his passing consistency.  Balogun is a hard tackler, an excellent leader, closes quickly and strong on the ball.  

A couple of quick notes on various players: freshman DeAndre Yedlin had an awful game, but he’s extremely talented and he’ll be a good player by the end of the year.  Freshman David Mayer is fighting a minor foot ailment, but he looked impressive off the bench in the second half.  Freshman Bryan Gallego played poorly – specifically dealing with the speed and high pressure.  He’ll be ok as he gets more acclimated.  Caldwell played well with crisp passes and intelligent movement off the ball.  David Meves is going to need to improve if he hopes to maintain the starting goalkeeper this year.  2010 NAIA player of the year, Luke Holmes will miss 7 games after transferring from Notre Dame College in the spring.  He’s going to be a welcome addition when he can play.

Creighton Observations:

With Ethan Finlay and Dion Acoff recovering from some minor injuries, the attack was less lethal, so Creighton pressured the ball high on the young Akron backline.  This was effective early, but Akron was able to recover after some early mishaps.

Junior Jose Gomez is a slick dribbler with explosive acceleration.  He’s very technical.  He faded late in the first half – given the primary focus on attack, it’s not surprising.  Gomez had his bell rung by Michael Balogun when he inadvisably turned into traffic in the 68th minute.  Gomez played a poor looping free kick into the goalkeeper’s hands.  In the 65th minute, Gomez demonstrated his strength holding the ball under extreme pressure by Balogun.

Senior center back Andrew Duran is good in the air, but he wasn’t controlling the defense.  He needs to provide more leadership regardless if he is surrounded by experienced players.  Duran is adept at long balls to the feet of his attacking players.  After suffering a season-ending injury last year, I’m glad to see that Duran has returned to play.  

Fort Wayne, Indiana – Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne was able to draw against Duke 1-1.  While Duke played with mostly reserves, IPFW should take solace that these non-starters are exceptionally talented players.

Starting Line-ups:

Duke: 4-4-1-1
F: Will Donovan
W/D F: Lewis McLeod
M: Daniel Tweed-Kent, Nick Palodichuk, Jake Butwin, Michael Assaraf
D: Joe Pak, Nick Prys, Alex Sauciuc, Rob Dolot
GK: Jan Trnka-Amrhein

Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne: 4-4-2
F: Max Touloute, Jason Mills
M: Corey Thompson, Alex Stronczek, Liridon Qafleshi, Colin Helmrich
D: Myles Stanley, Mike Enghofer, Brent Helton, Mitch Falkenstern
GK: Ryan Bristol

Duke Observations:

Freshman sensation Nick Palodichuk is very talented, but he still has significant development to be ready for the next level which he’s destined to achieve.  He doesn’t protect the ball satisfactorily.  He has spongy feet allowing him to softly receive the ball and he is an exceptional passer (accurate and weight) with good vision.  In the 13th minute, Palodichuk hit a left footed free kick around the wall with power and accuracy but the goalkeeper was able to stop the shot.

Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne Observations:

Senior forward Max Touloute approached me as I was departing to drive home inquiring how he could pursue a professional career.  Coincidentally, he was the player that I observed during the game.

Touloute has above average pace with a right foot that can make incisive passes in tight spaces.  He doesn’t beat defenders 1v1 off the dribble.  I like the way he receives the ball near the box – protecting it from the defenders.  Touloute is calm on the ball in the box, but he can’t create the space to release his shot.  While I question his quickness, he changes speed effectively.  

Most of Touloute’s passes that were intercepted were the aggressive through passes of the low risk/high reward type.  Although, he had a turn-over trying to be fancy, not playing simple in the 15th minute.  In the 23rd minute, Touloute whiffed on a dangerous cross in the box by Colin Helmrich.  In the 34th minute, Touloute dribbled around the goalkeeper, but he wasn’t able to get his left foot around the ball to deliver an open goal cross.  If he has professional aspirations, Touloute needs to work on his fitness (endurance, quickness and speed).  He’s a small player, so he needs to strengthen his core and upper body.

Fort Wayne, Indiana – I didn’t watch the Xavier beat Indiana 1-0, but I have the starting formations.

Starting Line-ups:

Xavier: 4-2-3-1
F: Luke Spencer
M: Matt Walker, Gino Depaoli, Will Walker
DM: Jimmy Rickert, Andy Kaplan
D: Sean Ryan, James Queree, Nick Hagglund, Adar Cohen
GK: Justin Marshall

Indiana: 4-2-3-1
F: Eriq Zavaleta
M: Alec Purdie, Aris Zafeiratos, Blake Wise
DM: Jacob Bushue, A. J. Corrado
D: Chris Estridge, Jack Coleman, Tommy Meyer, Jamie Vollmer
GK: Michael Soderlund

Fort Wayne, Indiana – Ohio State and Denver ended the Shindigz National Soccer Festival with a 1-1 draw.

Starting Line-ups:

Ohio State: 4-1-4-1
F: Kenney Cunningham
M: Omar Vallejo, Austin McAnena, Zach Dobey, Chris Hegngi
DM: Brady Wahl
D: Sage Gardner, Ben Killian, David Tiemstra, Chris Gomez
GK: Matt Lampson

Denver: 4-4-2
F: Kellan Christensen, Joe Eubanks
M: Zach Bolden, Mark Weigand, Drew Beckie, Alex Tarnoczi
D: Blake Shannon, Blair Jeralds, Taylor Hunter, Jack Henderson
GK: Oliver Brown

Ohio State Observations:

Senior center back David Tiemstra reminds me of Craig Waibel (now an assistant coach with Michigan), big, strong and bald.  He’s good in the air with a well established base.  His passing is very good providing a long pass on the ground to a forward checking back in the 13th minute.  In the 66th minute, Tiemstra ran a tremendous defensive angle as the second defender breaking up a play.  He headed a corner kick but it hit the post.

Tiemstra allows attackers to find space in front of him.  Countless times, an attacker would run to him, check back 5-10 yards in front of him and these attackers would stand their doing a research project without being challenged.  He seemed to have problems tracking the ball in the air.  Early in the second half, Tiemstra dribbled himself into a problem with pressure and Tiemstra didn’t make a decision what to do with the ball.  I’d like to see him unflappable with the ball.

Junior Chris Hegngi drew a penalty kick and finished the penalty kick into the lower left corner.  Hegngi use his body well to shield defenders off the ball.  He had no impact for much of the first half, but he picked up intensity the last 15 minutes of the first half.  In this time, he found space and a few minutes later, rather than challenge for a high ball; he stayed back and picked off the second ball.  Smart play.  Hegngi is a good ball player, but he needs to continue to improve.  He needs to track the ball better.

Denver Observations:

Senior right footed forward Kellan Christensen scored the lone goal.  Jerrod Stigall delivered a long early entry that dropped beautifully onto Christensen who crushed a right foot shot from 5 yards.  Christensen was impatient taking a 30 yard shot rather than working for a better percentage shot.  He made a nice pass into the box.  Christensen doesn’t make me endear as a forward.  I think he might be better in the back – especially if he wants to play after college.

Junior Alex Tarnoczi took a horrific free kick in the 12th minute right to the one player wall.  I liked how he kept his head up to find a teammate.  Unfortunately, he tried beating 4 defenders with the pass and he was intercepted. Tarnoczi doesn’t use his left foot for crosses and passes into the box. In the 60th minute, he brought the ball down softly and almost hit the upper corner of the goal.  He has a long way to go.