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Men's Soccer
Cameron, Tumicz Selected to Participate in 2008 adidas MLS Player Combine
Dec. 13, 2007
KINGSTON, R.I. - University of Rhode Island men's soccer seniors and NSCAA All-Mid Atlantic Region first teamers Geoffrey Cameron (Attleboro, Mass.) and Lukasz Tumicz (Bisztynek, Poland) have been selected to participate in the 2008 adidas MLS Player Combine, which will take place Jan. 11-15 at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. It marks the second-straight year that URI is represented on the Combine invite list, as Jeffrey Gonsalves received the nod last year. Tumicz, who led the A-10 this season with 27 points on a conference-best 12 goals and three assists, recorded either a goal or an assist in 11 of Rhode Island's 18 games and was second in the league with three game-winning tallies. "The fact that two guys from our team were invited - I think that says a lot about the strength of our program," said Tumicz. As a junior, the Rhody forward ranked 14th in the nation with 0.48 assists per game and also led the Atlantic 10 in assists (10) while finishing second in the league (to teammate Jeffrey Gonsalves) in total points (24), points per game (1.14) and goals (7). He was a clutch player for the Rams throughout the 2006 post-season, scoring a goal in URI's 2-0 win over Saint Louis in the A-10 Championship game, recording an assist in a 1-1 tie with Rutgers in the NCAA Tournament First Round and netting his PK shot to help URI advance to the Second Round - where he scored the game's first goal in a 1-1 tie with 16th-seeded Lehigh. Tumicz ended his collegiate career tied at #8 on URI's All-Time Scoring list with 86 career points (31g, 24a). In assists alone, he finished fifth all-time and is tied for ninth in career goals. A two-time All-Conference selection, Tumicz earned three preseason All-Conference honors, two Player of the Week awards and was named to the 2005 Atlantic 10 All-Championship team. He also was a member of two NCAA Tournament and Atlantic 10 Championship teams (2005, 2006) and one A-10 Regular Season Championship team (2005). "There's no doubt that this will be one of the biggest challenges I've faced," Tumicz added. "But we've been training a lot - just trying to do everything we can to make sure we're as prepared as possible. It's a great opportunity to compete with a lot of great players and I'm really looking forward to it!" Cameron, who spent his freshman and sophomore years at West Virginia, transferred to Rhode Island to finish his eligibility with the Rams. In his first season at URI, he made an immediate impact in the Rhody midfield, recording 14 points (4g, 6a) and finishing the season third in the Atlantic 10 with 52 shots. An All-Conference honorable mention, he also was named to the 2006 Atlantic 10 All-Championship Team and went on to earn College Soccer News National Team of the Week honors after recording an assist and netting his shot in the PK shootout to help URI defeat Rutgers in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. This season, Cameron received the Atlantic 10 Conference's inaugural Midfielder of the Year award this season after tallying two goals and three assists to help the Rams rank second in league play with 1.89 goals per game. A Preseason All-Conference selection, he finished the regular season tied for fourth in the A-10 with 47 shots. "Its very humbling to be selected for the Combine," explained Cameron. "To be out there with the best guys from the best programs around the country - its really exciting and it's a chance to prove to myself that I can compete at the next level. But at the same time it comes with a lot of responsibility. I'm there representing the University and, more specifically, my teammates and coaches - which is a tribute to the endless amounts of hard work we've all put in together. I definitely wouldn't be in the position I am now without these guys." The Rhode Island men's soccer team ended the 2007 season with a loss to NCAA College Cup participant Massachusetts in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament. The Rams finished 9-8-2 overall. More on the 2008 adidas MLS Combine: The coaching and management staffs of all 14 MLS teams will be in attendance to scout talent at the 2008 adidas MLS Player Combine, which concludes three days before the 2008 MLS SuperDraft (Jan. 18, 2008 in Baltimore, Md.). 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 2008 adidas Player Combine. These players will be announced in the upcoming weeks. The Combine will separate all players into four teams and feature two games per day at Lockhart Stadium on Jan. 12, 13, and 15. Each team will be led by an experienced Division I coach and will be assigned a youth coach, to be named at a later date. Former MLS coach and current assistant head coach at Duke University Mike Jeffries has been selected to coach Team Predator PowerServe. Ed Kelly, head coach at Boston College for the past 20 seasons, will coach Team adiTunit. Bobby Muuss, in his first season as the head coach at Denver University after six years as the top assistant coach at Wake Forest University, will lead Team adiPure. Tim Lenahan, head coach of Northwestern University has been chosen to coach Team Trofeo.
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