Boxall, Tetteh ready for Thursday’s MLS draft

UCSB soccer players Michael Boxall and Michael Tetteh didn’t hurt their draft chances at the MLS Player Combine in Florida, according to most Internet soccer sites covering the three-days of competition leading up to Thursday’s SuperDraft.

After Tuesday’s final day of matches, Tetteh is predicted to be a first-round pick while Boxall is expected to go early in the second round.

The first-round of the draft will be shown at 9 a.m. on ESPN2.

Tetteh was considered one of the top left-sided defenders at the combine. Playing on a team called AdiPower with Boxall, he assisted on a goal by Monmouth’s Ryan Kinne in a 2-1 defeat to Jabulani.

“I was able to get forward a lot and I had the assist on the goal, which is something I do a lot,” Tetteh told Soccer by Ives. “Finally today I was able to get involved with the attack and put a couple crosses in, so I was happy with that.”

Boxall played in a scoreless second half. He started in the team’s first match, which ended in a 0-0 draw and the second match, a 3-2 loss.

Depending on the site, draft prognosticators have Tetteh going as high as 12th in the draft and Boxall 18th, which would be in the final pick of the first round.

Some soccer pundits are predicting Tetteh will go to the New York Red Bulls and Boxall to the Colorado Rapids.