Emil Jaaskelainen led LIU to the NCAA Tournament last month. Now, he’ll show off his talents at this week’s MLS College Showcase. Photo courtesy of LIU Athletics
Long Island University men’s soccer standout Emil Jaaskelainen finished his stint with the Sharks last month with the second-most goals of any active Division I player.
He also helped guide LIU to its second NCAA Tournament in three seasons by scoring the winning goal in the Northeast Conference championship game against Sacred Heart.
The senior from Bolton, England will now get a chance to see if he has what it takes to play professionally in this country.
Jaaskelainen was one of 44 players invited to the adidas Major League Soccer College Showcase, which will run from Wednesday to Saturday in Phoenix, Arizona.
“We’ve got a lot of good players this year. We’ve got guys who can come on and change a game,” Jaaskelainen said following the Sharks’ 1-0 triumph over the Pioneers for the NEC crown in Brookville, N.Y., on Nov. 12.
“We know we can compete with the best colleges around,” the two-time NEC Player of the Year added. “We’re looking forward to it. We’re excited. We’re not nervous. We’ve got nothing to lose. We’ve just got to go all out and hopefully can get a result.”
Jaaskelainen certainly proved he was prepared for the big stage. His 43rd career goal opened the scoring in LIU’s eventual 2-1 loss to host Denver in the first round of the NCAAs.
The four-day MLS College Showcase is “a closed-door scouting event officially sanctioned by the NCAA,” according to the Sharks’ website.
The event will take place ahead of the MLS SuperDraft on Dec. 19, and Jaaskselainen could find himself eligible for selection.
His header goal at Denver on Nov. 16 also gave him 100 career points for the Sharks, who would like to join former St. Francis Brooklyn forward El Mahdi Youssoufi on a list of local college players selected in the MLS SuperDraft.
Youssoufi was picked in the…
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