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Helton, Loftus and Rennie Will Represent Duke At MLS Combine
12/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
DURHAM, N.C. - Duke seniors Chris Loftus and Kyle Helton were selected to participate in the 2007 adidas MLS Player Combine in January, and Coach John Rennie was chosen as one of four college coaches who will coach the scrimmages during the combine. The event takes place at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., from Jan. 5-8, 2007.
The coaching staffs and general managers from all 13 MLS teams will be in attendance to scout talent at the combine, which concludes 4 days before the 2007 MLS SuperDraft. The SuperDraft will be held on Friday, Jan. 12, 2007 in Indianapolis, Ind. in conjunction with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America 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.
Duke is one of only ten schools to send more than one player to the combine. The others sending more than one senior include Clemson, Indiana, Old Dominion, Southern Methodist, California, North Carolina, UNC- Greensboro, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, and West Virginia. Coincidentally, all eleven teams sending more than one player made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Helton played in 77 games as a Blue Devil over four years, starting in 69 of them. He scored two goals and recorded 14 assists as a defender, while taking 40 shots. Helton was one of three Duke captains in his senior campaign, and was named to the All-ACC Second Team this past year. He was also honored by being placed on Top Drawer Soccer's Third Team of the Season. In 2003 as a freshman, Helton made the ACC All-Freshmen Team.
Loftus played midfield and forward in his four years at Duke, and saw time in 80 games in his career, making starts in 58 of them. He tallied 24 goals on 103 shots, and accumulated 14 assists. Loftus was a captain as a junior and senior, and was named to the 2005 All-ACC Second Team and All-ACC Academic Team. As a freshman in 2003, Loftus was placed on the ACC All-Freshmen Team and on the ACC Honor Roll. After missing three games due to injury in the 2006 post-season, he returned to score a gutsy goal against UCLA in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.
Rennie became the winningest coach in ACC history this year. Rennie now has 399 career victories at Duke, and 91 wins in ACC play. Rennie overtook former Clemson coach I.M. Ibrahim in both categories. He also is in fifth place for Division I coaches with 443 overall wins. Rennie has now taken Duke to the NCAA Tournament in 19 of his 28 years as head coach. The Blue Devils had only been to the tournament once before Rennie took over. This was the third year in a row and seventh time in nine years that Duke has been in the tournament.
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