Senior Matt Eliason, Northwestern’s all-time leading goal scorer, finished his third and final day of competition at Major League Soccer’s combine in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Tuesday.
Eliason was one of 71 amateur and college players invited to compete in front of MLS coaches before the league’s SuperDraft on Thursday in Baltimore. If Eliason is not chosen in the three-round SuperDraft, he will have another shot at getting picked up in the Supplemental Draft that will take place via teleconference on Jan. 18.
The combine system divides players into four different teams that compete against one another over three days. Eliason played for the AdiPure team, which was coached by Tom McIntosh from the University of Tulsa. In his second game at the combine, Eliason recorded an assist off a cross to John Rooney, the brother of Manchester United forward and England national team player Wayne Rooney, according to MLS.com.
“I am very happy for Matt to be selected to the MLS combine, and I think he will do very well,” coach Tim Lenahan said when Eliason was invited to the combine, according to NUSports.com. “I think the MLS will see what we have seen for four years and that Matt is a fantastic all-around soccer player.”
Eliason spent last summer polishing his touch with the Chicago Fire’s Premier Development League (PDL), a program that boasts such notable alumni as former U.S. national team members Ricardo Clark and Jonathan Spector.
Eliason finished his NU-playing career out as the most prolific scorer in program history with a record 33 goals and 82 points overall. Along with junior Oliver Kupe, Eliason was named to the second-team All-America for the 2010 season. Though he played his first three seasons for the Wildcats as a high forward, Eliason spent most of the 2010 campaign slotted in the midfield where he dished out a team-high six assists on the season and pitched in three goals.
Eliason was one of 10 Big Ten players invited to the combine.
If he is drafted this week, Eliason will follow in the footsteps of former teammate David Roth, who was drafted by the New York Red Bulls as the 44th overall pick in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft.
