After transferring to Denver for his sophomore year, Banghart started every game at defender for the past three seasons and served as co-captain as a senior. Banghart was instrumental in anchoring DU’s defense, helping the Pioneers win their first ever Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship and their first berth in the NCAA Tournament in 2008.

“We are very proud of Kris and wish him the best in his opportunity at Real Salt Lake,” DU head coach Bobby Muuss said. “To be chosen by an organization like Real Salt Lake, who will be defending the MLS Cup, is a tremendous honor and achievement.”

Banghart was invited to attend the MLS combine, but he did not attend because of a slight quadriceps injury. Muuss said Banghart felt he could perform at about 85 percent efficiency but didn’t want to hurt the muscle and perform poorly.

“I have my fingers crossed that he gets a chance at the next level,” Muuss said. “I think he can play.”

RSL also features Nat Borchers, a former DU star, Rapids defender and Real Salt Lake’s 2009 MVP.

Portland midfielder Collen Warner (15th) and New Mexico’s Justin Davis (32nd) were also drafted by RSL.

University of Denver men’s soccer player Kris Banghart is among the initial list of 62 college seniors from 44 Division I schools who have been invited to participate in the 2010 adidas MLS player combine.

The annual player combine will be January 8-12 at Central Broward Regional Park in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

After transferring to DU for his sophomore year, Banghart started every game at defender for the past three seasons and served as co-captain as a senior. Banghart was instrumental in anchoring DU’s defense, helping the Pioneers win their first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship and their first berth in the NCAA tournament in 2008.

“This is a great opportunity for Kris, and it’s well-deserved,” said DU men’s soccer head coach Bobby Muuss, who also serves as a coach at the combine. “Kris worked extremely hard to make himself better, and his dedication shows up every day. We are proud of Kris and wish him the best of luck.”

The coaching and management staffs of all 16 MLS teams will be in attendance to scout talent at the 2010 adidas MLS player combine, which concludes two days before the 2010 MLS draft. At the 2009 draft, 10 combine players were selected in the first round. The 2010 MLS draft will be January 14 in Philadelphia.

The list of invitees is highlighted by five players who are semifinalists for the 2009 Hermann Trophy: Harvard University’s Andre Akpan, the University of North Carolina’s Zach Loyd, UCLA’s Kyle Nakazawa, Bucknell University’s Conor O’Brien and the University of Connecticut’s Toni Stahl. The Hermann Trophy finalists will be announced December 11, and the winner is announced on January 8.

The initial player list 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 2010 combine. The final player list and team assignments will be announced in the coming weeks.

MLS PLAYER COMBINE LIST BY SCHOOL

Boston University
Samuel Appiah

Brown University
Nick Elenz-Martin

Bucknell University
Conor O’Brien

California State University, Northridge
Chad Borak

College of William & Mary
Andrew Hoxie

Creighton University
Chris Schuler
Seth Sinovic

Dartmouth University
Craig Henderson

Depaul University
Steffen Vroom

Drake University
Julien Edwards

Elon University
Steven Kinney

Harvard University
Andre Akpan
Kwaku Nyamekye

Indiana University
Eric Alexander
Ofori Sarkodie

Lehigh University
Adam Welch

North Carolina State University
Olukorede Aiyegbusi
Ronnie Bouemboue

Old Dominion University
Nane Joseph

Penn State University
Jason Yeisley

Quinnipiac University
Frederick Hall

Saint Louis University
Tim Ream

San Diego State University
Nick Cardenas

St. John’s University
Nelson Becerra
Ben Clack

Stanford University
John Moore

Temple University
Joseph Noone

University of Alabama – Birmingham
Two-Boys Gumede

University of California – Berkeley
Tyler Barry

University of California – Irvine
Irving Garcia

University of California – Los Angeles
Kyle Nakazawa
Michael Stephens
Brian Perk
David Estrada

University of California – Santa Barbara
Martin Hadevag
David Walker

University of Connecticut
Kwame Watson-Siriboe
Toni Stahl
Mike Pezza

University of Dayton
Isaac Kissi

University of Denver
Kris Banghart

University of Hartford
Carlos Villa

University of Illinois – Chicago
Jovan Bubonja

University of Louisville
Othaniel Yanez
Fred Braun
Phil Edginton

University of Maryland
Drew Yates
Kevin Tangney

University of Michigan
Mauro Fuzetti

University of New Mexico
Justin Davis

University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
Zach Loyd
Brooks Haggerty

University of Notre Dame
Michael Thomas
Bright Dike
Justin Morrow

University of Portland
Collen Warner

University of San Diego
Ryan Peterman

University of San Francisco
Conor Chinn

University of Virginia
Ross LaBauex

Villanova University
Mike Seamon

Wake Forest University
Zack Schilawski
Austin da Luz

Game time at Qwest Field is at 6:30 p.m. MT.

RSL defeated the Rapids 3-0 on the final day of the season to qualify for the the playoffs with an 11-12-7 record. Salt Lake will be facing David Beckham, 2009 Major League Soccer MVP Landon Donovan and the rest of the Glax, who had the best record in the Western Conference at 12-6-12.

Borchers has been a favorite of the Tanner family since his first start for the Rapids in 2003. It was bittersweet when he left the team to play professionally in Norway; we were excited for his career possibilities, but we were sad to see him leave.

However, there was no sweet, just bitter, when he was allocated to Real Salt Lake upon his return to MLS. The only positive was the chance to see him play (albeit with that team’s crest on his kit).

But my daughter, Sydney, remains a huge fan, so I’m sure I know which team she’ll be cheering for on Sunday.

Borchers recently spoke to the folks at DU about the experience of being in the finals against the Galaxy:

“We’re like the blue-collar team going up against the white-collar team. We’re excited to play a team like L.A., but we are also confident based on the way we’ve been playing heading into this game. We kind of backed our way into the playoffs, but when our backs were against wall, we seemed to play our best soccer.

“When it comes to playing at the level, every single game is important, and you always have to bring your best soccer. But in the playoffs, big-time players generally step up. We hope our big guys will step up again because we are looking to come home to Salt Lake with some hardware.”

Borchers was the only member of Real Salt Lake to start all 30 games this season, playing 2,679 of the team’s 2,700 minutes. He scored one goal.

Borchers, who started every game during his career at DU, was the Pioneers’ leading scorer in 2002, with six assists and 18 points. His offensive leadership and tenacious defense earned him the Player of the Year award in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

The Pueblo native was a three-time member of the All-MPSF squad, earning first-team honors twice and second-team accolades once. At East High School in Pueblo, Borchers was a member of the Club Colorado Select team and was a first team all-state honoree and the 1998 South Central Conference MVP.

Major League Soccer released the finalists for the league’s 2009 awards today. The winners will be announced starting Wednesday and ending Nov. 19.

The finalists, listed in alphabetical order below for each award, earned the most votes in polling of MLS players, general managers, coaches, referees and members of the media. The MLS W.O.R.K.S.–U.S. Soccer Foundation Humanitarian of the Year will be determined by representatives from the U.S. Soccer Foundation and MLS W.O.R.K.S., and is scheduled to be announced Friday.

This season’s most outstanding individual plays will be honored on Nov. 18, when the goal and save of the year are announced. Voting for the goal and save of the year is conducted on the league’s Web site.

The 2009 awards announcements culminate Nov. 22 with the unveiling of the Commissioner’s Award winner.

To go along with the announcement of the league’s award finalists, I’ve included my votes, in order, below.

GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
Kasey Keller – Seattle Sounders
Donovan Ricketts – Los Angeles Galaxy
Zach Thornton – Chivas USA
GEORGIE VOTED FOR …
1) Thornton
2) Keller
3) Will Hesmer – Columbus Crew
Hesmer was huge in the Crew’s 1-0 victory over the Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. The Rapids went 1-0-2 in all competitions against the Galaxy, and they were done playing Los Angeles by April, well before the Glax got hot. So we didn’t see Ricketts at his finest, either.

FAIR PLAY FINALISTS
Kasey Keller – Seattle Sounders
Pat Onstad – Houston Dynamo
Steve Ralston – New England Revolution
GEORGIE VOTED FOR …
1) Keller
2) Nat Borchers – Real Salt Lake
3) Chad Marshall – Columbus Crew
I wanted to vote for Omar Cummings of the Rapids, who never falls down unless he’s physically unable to keep himself upright and who never mouths off to the referee unless he believes he was wronged and a more-favorable call would’ve changed the outcome of the match. The two candidates from the Rapids who we were able to choose from were Pat Noonan and Scott Palguta. And why wasn’t Borchers among the three finalists? He was one of a handful of MLS players to start every match, and he committed fewer than 30 fouls during the season.

COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
Brian McBride – Chicago Fire
Ben Olsen – D.C. United
Zach Thornton – Chivas USA
GEORGIE VOTED FOR …
1) Thornton
No one deserves this more than Zach Thornton. I made only one vote.

DEFENDER OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
Geoff Cameron – Houston Dynamo
Jhon Kennedy Hurtado – Seattle Sounders FC
Chad Marshall – Columbus Crew
GEORGIE VOTED FOR …
1) Marshall
2) Wilman Conde – Chicago Fire
3) Borchers
Marshall was spectacular against the Rapids in August (and all year against everyone). He is the best defender in the league. Conde also was dominant against the Rapids; his Fire squad shocked the Rapids on July 4, and he scored the winning goal. It was perhaps the best performance by a defender in a Rapids game all year. Borchers was instrumental in shutting down Casey in the season finale. He played every game for the Utah squad and was named the team’s MVP.

REFEREE OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
Alex Prus
Ricardo Salazar
Kevin Stott
I chose not to vote in this category.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
Stefan Frei – Toronto FC
Omar Gonzalez – Los Angeles Galaxy
Chris Pontius – D.C. United
GEORGIE VOTED FOR …
1) Gonzalez
2) Frei
3) Steve Zakuani – Seattle Sounders
Gonzalez was a beast against Casey in those early games. He was the reason the Rapids won only one of the three meetings between the teams. Frei might win the award. Pontius was the early leader, but I thought he slowed as the season wore on.

COACH OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
Bruce Arena – Los Angeles Galaxy
Sigi Schmid – Seattle Sounders FC
Robert Warzycha – Columbus Crew
GEORGIE VOTED FOR …
1) Arena
2) Warzycha
3) Denis Hamlett – Chicago Fire
Arena should and will win this. In Los Angeles, he made lemonade out of turmoil and dissension. It was a mess, and he turned it around.

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
Kasey Keller – Seattle Sounders FC
Freddie Ljungberg – Seattle Sounders FC
Fredy Montero – Seattle Sounders FC
GEORGIE VOTED FOR …
1) Keller
2) Montero
3) Ricketts
I don’t think Ljungberg played enough to be considered here. I was surprised that Ricketts was not selected by more of the voting group. However, I’d have liked to have seen Scott Palguta among the candidates in this category. I thought he was deserving.

MVP FINALISTS
Jeff Cunningham – FC Dallas
Landon Donovan – Los Angeles Galaxy
Shalrie Joseph – New England Revolution
GEORGIE VOTED FOR …
1) Conor Casey – Colorado Rapids
2) Brad Davis – Houston Dynamo
3) Donovan
If Casey wins the Golden Boot, he’s among the finalists (and Cunningham isn’t). If the Rapids make the playoffs, Casey is among the finalists (and Cunningham isn’t). If he’s the leading scorer AND the Rapids win that last game, Casey has a legitimate shot at the award. Coulda, woulda, shoulda. … I thought Davis, after D-Ro went to Canada, really showed he was capable of leading one of the best teams in the league. Donovan will win.

PUBLIC RELATIONS AWARD
GEORGIE VOTED FOR …
1) Colorado Rapids
2) New England Revolution
Of course I voted for the Rapids! Jason Gilham, Kieran Cain and Co. are helpful, friendly, available, fast and good. That James Bond intro before every game was classic! They are overworked and understaffed, yet they don’t let that show. Best PR combo ever. And Lizz Summers of New England was one of the few visiting media relations workers who went out of her way to update the Denver-area media about the visiting team. Good on ya!

The media also got to vote on the league’s best 11 players, but I’ll withhold my choices until the league makes an announcement. Here’s one hint: I voted for only one player not mentioned in this post. And it wasn’t Guillermo Barros Schelotto (who was listed as a forward, but I wanted to put him on the team as an attacking midfielder).

Payne’s comments appeared in the Soccer Insider blog by The Washington Post’s Steven Goff:

“We don’t want to play like Colorado or New England, which most of the season sat with eight or nine guys behind the ball. How many people go to watch Colorado or New England play? That’s a problem for our league. We can’t play like we’re a team desperately trying to remain in 14th place in the Premiership. Our market isn’t there yet. They want to see something that is entertaining, and D.C. United has always had a way of playing. Given a choice, we would rather attack than cynically defend. You look at the way Real Salt Lake played when they came here [a 0-0 tie in May] and sat 10 guys behind the ball. You don’t have to do that. Sometimes that is the best way to get a result – if you don’t care about the product, if you don’t care about advertising your league. Long term, who wants to watch that?”

Read Goff’s entire post here.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Howard. He made seven saves in regulation time, and he made three saves in the final penalty-kick phase. If it weren’t for him, Rapids striker Conor Casey would’ve collected the winning goal on a header in the first half. Howard won the MVP trophy, fittingly.

MLS PLAYER OF THE GAME: Call me a homer (d’oh!), but Casey was the best player on the losing side. He set up the MLS goal by winning the ball in the Everton penalty area and centering to Stuart Holden. His clinical first-half header forced Howard into making the save of the game. He set up the play in which Landon Donovan banked the ball off the post in the second half (and THAT should’ve been the winning goal; thanks, Landycakes). He nearly scored in the final seconds on a corner kick, volleying a ball on goal that Howard would not have stopped; unfortunately for the MLS side, a defender used both his feet to maintain the 1-1 score. After the game, with Everton leading the PK round 3-2 and the pressure on, Casey buried his attempt in the lower corner. Howard had guessed correctly, diving to his left, but Casey used world-class touch to slot the ball inside the post, slightly out of Howard’s reach. 

MLS PLAYER OF THE GAME WHO DOESN’T PLAY FOR THE RAPIDS: Despite making the gaffe that led to Louis Saha’s early goal for Everton, Houston’s Stuart Holden had a strong game. Was he trying extra hard to make up for the error? Probably. But he pushed forward with the most electricity and really lit a fire under the team when he had the ball. Freddie Ljungberg was full of energy and fight. Brad Davis scored the MLS goal. Seattle keeper Kasey Keller was almost Howard’s equal in the penalty kicks. I would have to go with Holden.

UGH: I enjoy listening to JP Dellacamera call a game, but every time Donovan got the ball, he switched into worship mode. As if every time Donovan touched la pelota, time stood still and sparks flew from the light standards, like Roy Hobbs in “The Natural” or Lionel Messi in those adidas commercials. C’mon. He could be the most talented American soccer player every, but calm down, JP!

BEST ALL-STAR GAME HAIRCUT SINCE CARLOS VALDERRAMA: Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini has one crazy fro. And, ironically, his ‘do gave way to the the second-wackiest haircut on the pitch, that of Brazil’s Jo. There should be a special trophy for that. The bronze clippers, maybe.

ZIPPERS AND ALL: Did Major League Soccer buy those jerseys at the Tour de France garage sale? I can’t decide if I like them or not. They had the crest of the player’s MLS club on the sleeve, which was a nice touch. They were black and blue (and I’m a sucker for black and blue). Maybe I did like them. And it was interesting that Donovan was one of the few players who traded his jersey with an Everton player after the match.

SPENNY ALERT! When former Rapids goalkeeper Zach Thornton got hurt early in the second half, ESPN commentator John Harkes suggested that the MLS side should use Houston assistant coach John Spencer if it runs short of players. And Spenny got on camera a few times late in the game. We here at ColoradoSoccerNow.com (OK, me) can’t get enough Spenny.

Johnson replaces Joseph, who has been diagnosed with bone bruising in his right knee. Johnson was a member of Canada’s Gold Cup roster and helped lead the Canadian squad to the Gold Cup quarterfinals, where they fell to Honduras.

Soumare, from Mali, will replace Ching, who is being given rest after a grueling stretch of games with the U.S. national team. Ching has played in four of five Gold Cup games as the U.S. men advanced to the final, where they will face Mexico on Sunday. Now in his third MLS season, Soumare has become one of the league’s most outstanding defenders. He has started 14 games this season, helping lead Chicago to the top of the Eastern Conference standings.

This will be the first All-Star appearance for Johnson and Soumare.

The 2009 MLS All-Star Game will be Wednesday at Rio Tinto Stadium, in Sandy, Utah. The MLS All-Stars will play Everton FC, whose roster boasts international stars Tim Cahill, Louis Saha, Marouane Fellaini, Steven Pienaar, Tim Howard and more. The game will be televised live on ESPN2 and Galavision at 7:30 p.m. Mountain Time.

Ching was among six selections for the squad made by Houston’s Dominic Kinnear, coach of the All-Star Team.

Kinnear also chose his club’s Pat Onstad as the squad’s second goalkeeper; Dynamo midfielder Brad Davis; Seattle defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Sounders forward Fredy Montero; and Kansas City’s Davy Arnaud. The Wizards midfielder will replace Columbus’ Guillermo Barros Schelotto, who has been ruled out because of an injury.

The Final 18-player MLS roster includes four members of the Houston Dynamo and the Seattle Sounders, three from Real Salt Lake and the Chicago Fire and one player from the Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew, Kansas City Wizards and Los Angeles Galaxy.

2009 MLS ALL-STAR TEAM
Goalkeeper: Kasey Keller (Seattle), Pat Onstad (Houston)

Defenders: Geoff Cameron (Houston), Wilman Conde (Chicago), Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (Seattle), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Bakary Soumare (Chicago)

Midfielders: Davy Arnaud (Kansas City), Kyle Beckerman (Salt Lake), Cuauhtémoc Blanco (Chicago), Brad Davis (Houston), Stuart Holden (Houston), Freddie Ljungberg (Seattle), Javier Morales (Salt Lake), Will Johnson (Salt Lake)

Forwards: Conor Casey (Colorado), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles), Fredy Montero (Seattle)

He is one of seven first-time members of the team. The game will be played at 7:30 p.m. (Mountain Time) July 29 at Rio Tinto Stadium, in Sandy, Utah. The MLS All-Stars will face Everton of the English Premier League. The game will be televised live on ESPN and Galavision.

Galaxy forward Landon Donovan is the other forward on the team.

Casey is third in goal scoring in the league with eight, and Donovan has scored six goals. Leading scorer Guillermo Barros Schelotto of the Columbus Crew, who has 10 goals in 17 games, was selected to play. Fredy Montero, the league’s second-leading scorer, with nine goals, was not picked for the first 11. He is likely to be named as a reserve.

Next Monday, Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear and his staff’s selections will be announced. Two commissioner’s selections will complete the 18-man roster. Kinnear earned the honor of coaching the MLS side by leading his team to the highest points-per-game average in the league through games on June 28.

The first 11 players received the most votes at their respective positions from four groups – fans, players, the media and coaches/general managers. Schelotto led all players in combined voting, followed by Donovan and Casey.

The first 11 are not necessarily the starters. Kinnear will select the starters based on player availability and tactical considerations. If any of the first 11 are unavailable because of injury, international duty or other commitments, Kinnear will select alternates for the game-day roster.

To purchase tickets for the MLS All-Star Game, visit RioTintoStadium.com or call 1-800-838-3380.

2009 MLS ALL-STAR GAME FIRST 11
Goalkeeper
Kasey Keller (Seattle Sounders FC)

Defenders
Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo), Wilman Conde (Chicago Fire), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew)

Midfielders
Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto FC), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Shalrie Joseph (New England Revolution) Freddie Ljungberg (Seattle Sounders FC), Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus Crew)

Forwards
Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)

Click this link to read more about the game.

GOALKEEPER (1)
Kasey Keller, Seattle Sounders: Although he doesn’t have the best stats in the league, he’s having the best year.

DEFENDERS (3)
Chad Marshall, Columbus Crew: Scores goals, shuts down opponents, plays clean.

Jimmy Conrad, Kansas City Wizards: Consistent, talented and a scoring threat. A real leader, on and off the field.

Bobby Boswell, Houston Dynamo: A big reason Houston has given up only 10 goals in 2009 and leads the league in allowing the fewest shots. Dynamo opponents have taken only 129 shots this season; the Rapids are next at 137.

MIDFIELDERS (5)
Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Columbus Crew: the MVP of the season so far. An amazing player and a joy to watch.

Brad Davis, Houston Dynamo: Leading the league in assists and driving the big orange machine to the top of the Western Conference.

Dwayne De Rosario, Toronto FC: New rule — Major League Soccer is not allowed to stage an All-Star Game without D-Ro.

Paulo Nagamura, Chivas USA: A superior defensive presence, and he’s scored some clutch goals for the Goats.

Chris Pontius, D.C. United: Rookie-of-the-year candidate has second-highest goal total (4) for Eastern power.

FORWARDS (2)
Conor Casey, Colorado Rapids: One of two biggest aerial threats in the league.

Fredy Montero, Seattle Sounders: MLS newcomer has turned heads since the first week of the season. Exciting with the ball and spot-on finishing.

Voting by position was a little restrictive. I’d love to move Kenny Cooper and Landon Donovan to the midfield, but that’s not how the voting was set up. Players were already assigned a position, and nobody topped Casey and Montero up front.

If I had to choose three strikers, I’d be scratching my head. Who to pick among the following: Nate Jaqua? Six goals and five assists. Omar Cummings? Six goals and six assists. Donovan? Cooper? Eduardo Lillingston? Robbie Findley? Ryan Johnson? Brian McBride? Serious competition this year at striker.

MLS lists Pontius at midfield although he’s seen a lot of action as a striker. I chose him narrowly over Freddie Ljungberg, a big-name signing who has been worth every cent of the $1.3 million he’ll earn this year. But what a value Pontius is at $66,000.

Choosing only three defenders is crazy.

Houston’s Pat Onstad has a better goals-against average than Keller (0.63 to 0.84) and three more shutouts. But Keller has been a better goalkeeper this season. He’s shown it spectacularly. Oddly, the Rapids have missed penalty kicks against both of those guys. Onstad would be my second choice and would play the second half.

PLAYER NAME: Omar Cummings, Colorado Rapids

SECOND: Fredy Montero, Seattle Sounders

COMMENTS: Omar had two goals and assisted on Colin Clark’s score as the Rapids defeated D.C. United 3-0 on Saturday night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. HUGE game from cummings, who showed speed, skill and playmaking ability in a decisive win over the top team in the East. Two goals for Montero in two ties.

And, yes, Omar won the award, the first time he’s been honored as player of the week.

If Omar keeps this up, we’re going to run out of photos of him.