After a senior season at Oregon State that included honorable mention all-conference recognition and a Pac-12 player of the week award, Mikhail Doholis hopes to launch his professional soccer career this week with a strong performance at the MLS Combine in Florida.
The Union High graduate is one of 60 college players invited to participate in the combine, which runs Thursday through next Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The combine is a chance for players to demonstrate their ability in front of MLS coaches and general managers. The players invited were selected by a committee of MLS and college coaches.
“I’m not nervous. I’m ready to go out and get what is mine,” Doholis said.
The combine is held in advance of the Jan. 14 MLS SuperDraft. Players at the combine are divided into four teams and will each play three games. In addition to the games, there will be physical testing and interviews with MLS teams as part of the combine.
Doholis is on Team X, which is scheduled to play games at 11 a.m. (PST) Friday, 9 a.m. Sunday, and 8:45 a.m. Tuesday.
Doholis said Beavers coach Steve Simmons helped him get invited to the combine. He said he has already worked out for several MLS clubs.
Doholis opened his senior season at Oregon State with a splash. He scored the game winner in overtime in a 1-0 win over Marquette in the Beavers’ season opener then assisted on the winner in a 1-0 upset of then ninth-ranked Michigan State. He was selected the first 2015 Pac-12 player of the week for men’s soccer. It was the first time since 2012 the Beavers had a men’s soccer player win the player of the week award.
He had one goal and four assists this season, playing both as a left winger and as an attacking midfielder. Doholis finished with six goals and nine assists in 75 career games for the Beavers.
He projects as a wing player at the professional level, though many players who make the jump from college to Major League Soccer wind up in new positions.
The Beavers had a young team this season — with nine true freshmen (five who played) and four redshirt freshmen on the roster — and finished fifth in the six-team conference (3-6-1) and were 8-9-1 overall. But Doholis said he enjoyed being a team captain who helped younger players adjust to college.
“It was a really, really good experience for me,” Doholis said, adding that it was almost like reliving his freshman season when everything was new.
Now it’s time for another new experience, one he hopes will be the beginning of a professional soccer career. Doholis said former Beaver teammate Khiry Shelton — the No. 2 pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft by New York City FC — told him the most important thing is to be in shape for the combine. Doholis said his days leading up to the combine included working to improve his cardiovascular fitness and strength in addition to soccer-specific skills.
“Khiry told me just train every day and show up as fit as you’ve ever been,” Doholis said.
