University of Albany's Steward Ceus Earns Invite to 2009 Adidas Major League Soccer Player Combine - UAlbany Sports

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

New York, N.Y. – University at Albany’s Steward Ceus (West Haverstraw, N.Y./North Rockland) will participate in the 2009 adidas Major League Soccer Player Combine, from Jan. 9-13 at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Ceus, who was recently named to the NSCAA/adidas All-America third team and was the America East Conference Goalkeeper of the Year, was one of 65 Division I seniors invited to the event.

The coaching and management staffs of all 15 MLS teams will be in attendance to scout talent at the combine, which wraps up just two days before the MLS Superdraft on Jan. 15 in St. Louis, Mo. Last season, 43 of the 58 players selected in the draft participated in the combine. In addition, 12 of them were picked in the first round.

Ceus recently became the first UAlbany men’s soccer player to garner All-America honors at any level since Marty Hearney was voted to the Division III All-American squad in 1991. He eclipsed Division I program records for career shutouts (19) and saves (329) while posting an .856 save percentage, an 0.96 goals against average and seven shutouts this fall. He finished the season ranked fourth in the nation in saves per game (5.93) and ninth in save percentage.

UAlbany posted a 12-4-2 overall record this year, which matched a Division I program record set in 2004. The team’s nine-win improvement tied for third in the nation with Fairleigh Dickinson, only trailing Maryland (13) and St. John’s (10). In addition, the Great Danes’ seven-game unbeaten streak before suffering a 1-0 double overtime loss to Binghamton in the semifinal round of the conference tournament was a program standard in the program’s Division I history.