Just one month after senior defender Hugh Cronin experienced one of the worst moments in his soccer career, he received an unexpected invitation that could fulfill a lifelong dream. Cronin, along with senior midfielder El Hadj Cisse, was selected among an elite group of 54 college seniors to participate in the 2008 Adidas MLS Player Combine.
In what would be the final game of his college career, Cronin was sidelined with a calf contusion as he watched his team fall 4-1 to Virginia in the opening round of the ACC tournament. Cronin, a business major, started thinking about graduate school.
But despite playing on a team that finished 6-9-3 and last in the ACC, Cronin caught the eye of the opposing coaches. The initial list of invited players was determined by a select panel of Division I coaches, representing all conferences, in conjunction with MLS coaches.
“To be honest, I was a little surprised,” Cronin said. “It’s a really big honor to be picked to go to the Combine.”
This year’s Combine will be held at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Jan. 11-15. The Combine concludes just three days before the 2008 MLS SuperDraft and representatives from all 14 MLS teams will be in attendance to scout talent.
The format for the Combine separates players into four teams, led by experienced Division I coaches. Cisse and Cronin will each play a total of three games in four days against some of the best competition in the country in hopes to be selected in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft.
Cronin, a midfielder and four-year starter, garnered national honors this season when he was named to Top Drawer Soccer’s National Team of the Week.
Cisse led N.C. State with 5 goals this season and was named Second Team All-ACC. He is rated the No. 7 midfielder in the draft by Buzz Carrick of ESPN Soccernet.
At the Combine, Cisse is hoping he can play his way to the top of the draft.
“I’m hoping I can be in the first round — top 10 or 14,” Cisse said.
Although Cisse is a fan of a particular MLS team, he’s willing to join any team that’s willing to select him.
“Of course I have a favorite team,” he said. “I would love to go to Europe. But it’s not about my favorite soccer team. It’s about who wants to give me more playing time and who wants to give me more money.”
Cronin, on the other hand, doesn’t care where he gets drafted. He’s just happy to have a chance to live out his dream.
“If I don’t get drafted, I will probably end up graduating in the spring and decide to go to grad school to get my MBA,” he said. “But hopefully I won’t have to make that decision.”