Ryan Finley
Ryan Finley
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2013 Season: Has made four substitute appearances at forward ... made his Crew -- and MLS -- debuts in a substitute appearance at Chivas USA (March 2).
2013 Reserve League: Has made three appearances -- including two starts -- at forward ... has scored one goal .... started at forward against Chicago (March 26) and was a substitute at New York (March 31) ... returned to the starting lineup and scored the game-winner in the 18th-minute against New York (May 4).
What Scouts Say: "Effective forward. He can score and showed it at Notre Dame ... Similar to LA's Robbie Keane with his runs ... Powerful, quick runner. Definitely an MLS player ... He's driven with his runs and gets himself in good spots ... On the field he can run hard at you with the ball, he's two-footed and scores with both feet ... A great finisher and has a nose for the goal. A poacher who can find holes … Rides the offside line and is difficult to deal with ... No one in college runs off the shoulder of the last defender better. Times his runs so well ...The Ruud Van Nistelrooy of college soccer ... Very quick when he gets the ball and goes forward. Quick in transition ... Always at the right place at the right time ... Can make up something out of nothing, just getting on the end of things ... Coming back in midfield and combining is not his game … Not a good link-up guy. Needs to learn to combine better ... Good pace and strikes a good ball, cheeky about his runs and finding space … He receives it and if he sees a chance to burn you, he will ... Plays with his head down and will miss teammates at times. Might be a tad selfish. But you add the goals in there and you change what you think about him ... Can create on his own on the dribble and can find goals ... Determined to score ... Questions about his overall ability to pass and to play ... Has a reputation for being a diver ... The biggest question mark is his attitude ... Also, can he play quicker and think quicker in MLS? ... Intense and will come into Player Combine fit ... Feet are pretty good. Technically he's pretty good and improved while in college ... He'll end up doing alright as a third striker for someone that can play some games while he's developing and be a pest and work ... Can hold the ball up, but he does his best work when he runs in behind ... Not at his best when he's involved in build-up play. He's OK at it ... He needs players that can play him in behind and he had that at Notre Dame."
COLLEGE EXPERIENCE
2012 (at Notre Dame): As a senior, Finley played in all 22 matches and ranked second nationally in goals (21) and points (46). The goal and point totals were career-best marks for the forward. His 21 goals rank fifth in Notre Dame history for a single season. Finley ranked third nationally in goals per game (0.95) and fourth in points per game (2.09). He was named to the NSCAA All-America First Team and was a MAC Hermann Trophy finalist . Finley received numerous national weekly honors throughout the season from outlets including Soccer America, TopDrawerSoccer.com, Soccer News Net, NSCAA and College Soccer News. The striker was also an All-Great Lakes Region First Team honoree and led the BIG EAST with 12 goals in league play and was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year. Finley was a unanimous selection to the All-BIG EAST First Team, the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week on three occasions (9/3, 10/8, 10/29) and had six game-winning goals, including two golden goals, six multiple-goal games, including one hat trick.
2011 (at Notre Dame): Finley played in 17 matches and led the Irish in goals (7) and points (16) in addition to two assists as a junior. Finley was an All-BIG EAST Second Team and All-Great Lakes Region Third Team selection.
2010 (at Duke): Finley played in 18 games and started 17 and was voted the ACC Offensive Player of the Year. earned All-ACC first team honors. Finley was named to the NSCAA All-America third team and also also garnered All-America recognition from College Soccer News. The forward was voted to the Soccer America MVPs first team, earned NSCAA All-South Region first team recognition and led the ACC in goals (17) and points (37), ranking first among all NCAA Division I players in goals per game (0.94). Nationally, Finley ranked second in points per game, fifth in total goals and sixth in total points goals.
2009 (at Duke): As a freshman, Finley started all 21 matches for the Blue Devils and tallied a team-best 11 goals and led the squad with 27 points overall. He was voted to the NSCAA All-South Region second team and selected to the ACC All-Freshman and TopDrawerSoccer.com All-Rookie teams. Finley played the fifth-most minutes on the team with 1,699, registering four game-winning goals.
YOUTH EXPERIENCE
Finley attended Rancocas Valley Regional High School in Mount Holly, N.J. where he led team to the state title in his senior year while tallying 20 goals and six assists. Finley was named Philadelphia Inquirer's South Jersey Player of the Year. The forward spent his sophomore and junior seasons in Bradenton, Fla., for the US Soccer Under-17 residency program.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
Internationally, Finlet was a member of the U-17 U.S. National Team in 2006, was selected to the U-18 U.S. National Team and most recently competed in the Lisbon International Tournament with the under-18 team.
ACQUIRED
Selected ninth overall in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft.
PERSONAL
Ryan is the son of Terry and Debbie Finley andhas one sister, Erin. At Notre Dame, Finley was enrolled in the College of Arts and Letters as a sociology major, boasting a 3.139 cumulative GPA.
Links:
MLS On Campus: The American Solksjaer at Notre Dame?
University of Notre Dame: Official player page