Dec. 15, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State seniors Connor Maloney (Harrisburg, Pa,) and Robby Sagel (Las Vegas, Nev.) will be two of just 53 college senior selected to take part in the 2017 Major League Soccer combine next month in Los Angeles, Calif.
The event will be held from Jan. 8-12, and coaches from all 20 MLS teams will be on hand to scout players in anticipation of making selections for the league's SuperDraft, scheduled for Jan. 13 at the 2017 NSCAA Convention in Los Angeles.
Maloney and Sagel are two of six players from the Big Ten selected for the 2017 MLS Combine with Indiana and Maryland both having two players selected for the combine. Furthermore, it is the first time that two Penn State players have been invited to the same combine and the first time since 2014 that the Nittany Lions have been represented at the MLS combine as Andrew Wolverton was invited and selected to the LA Galaxy at the 2015 MLS SuperDraft.
Maloney has been vital to the Penn State offense for the last four seasons, appearing in and starting 75 matches with 27 goals and 16 assists to total 71 career points in 6,104 minutes on the pitch. In his freshman year he was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team after leading Penn State with seven assists. Moving into his sophomore campaign he paced the Nittany Lions with 10 goals and added three assists en route to a number of accolades including: Big Ten Player of the Year, First Team All-Big Ten, College Sports Madness Big Ten Player of the Year, and College Sports Madness All-America Fourth Team.
The Harrisburg, Pa. native added seven goals and two assists to his tally in his junior season for a team-best 16 points and his second All-Big Ten First Team honors. In his final season donning the Blue and White the senior midfielder led the Nittany Lions with eight goals and five assists, while putting 23 shots on goal in 1,348 minutes on the field.
Sagel senior played in 32 matches and started 31 in his two-year career at Penn State, playing 2,805 minutes on the backline. The Las Vegas, Nev. native scored two crucial goals for the Blue and White, finding the game winning goal in the 2015 season against then-No. 10 Indiana on Mack Brady Night and netting the game-winner against No. 19 Michigan State in the 2016 campaign.
The senior defender has been a key component of the Nittany Lion backline that has helped to secure 10 shutouts in his two-year career donning the Blue and White. Sagel earned All-Big Second Team honors and Big Ten All-Tournament team honors to close out his career as a Nittany Lion.
Other Penn State players who have taken part in the MLS player combines include: goalkeeper Andrew Wolverton (2011-14), midfielder Matteus Bragga (2008-10), forward Jason Yeisley (2005-07, 09), forward Simon Omenkanda (2003-06) and midfielder Brian Devlin (2002-05).
The complete list of 2017 combine participants can be found here: http://gopsu.info/2hRTZTc