YNT-eligible college players -- 2017 thread

Eryk Williamson had a goal and an assist Monday night vs. UConn. He has 4 and 3 this season in 11 games.

 

A player to watch might be Robbie Robinson from Clemson.

He is a Freshman Midfielder (December 1998) who has 4 goals and 1 assist in 9 games (all 4 goals in the last 4 games) for the Tigers. It is hard to break into the Clemson squad as a FR, so just playing a big role is doing something right.

He didn't play DA ball since Charleston Battery dropped out of the DA, but did sign with their USL team and made a 88 minute cameo against ATL United in the Open Cup.

Scored both goals in Clemson 2-3 loss in OT at Wake Forest.

Servania played 81 minutes without a goal or assist.

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At UNC Lucas de Rosario had a goal and an assist and Giovanni Motesdeaco had a goal in 4-0 win over Winthrop midweek. Lindley had the lone goal from the spot in UNC weekend win over NC State.

 

Lindley is a strong contender for the Hermann, IMO.

Good points on Robinson. Definitely worth watching.

 

Cam Lindley had 2 goals and an assist for UNC in a blowout of James Madison Tuesday. Lindley now has 5 goals and 8 assists for the Heels, and is orchestrating an attack that leads the nation in scoring at 3 goals per game.

A player I'm really intrigued by is Indiana freshman forward Mason Toye. He's a big kid (6-3), who didn't play at an MLS academy so would presumably be draft-eligible. He's a late 98 and he got a quick look from Tab last spring but he's off to a really strong start for the undefeated Hoosiers. Toye scored twice Tuesday against Evansville and has 6 goals and an assist in 11 games against a pretty good schedule.

Meanwhile, Sounders prospect Trey Muse, an 89, has put up video game numbers in his first collegiate season for Indiana. He's started all 11 goals for IU and has allowed just two goals. He has 9 shutouts, a 0.17 GAA and a .926 save percentage. And if you happen to like your goalkeepers on the big side, Muse is 6-4.

 

Thanks for the correction, Dave.

 

Much-maligned with the U20s, but still one of the better prospects in college soccer, New Mexico's AJ Herrera had a goal and an assist tonight in a 3-0 win over Loyola-Marymount. He has 3 goals and 5 assists in 10 games this year.

 

Milan Iloski (99) scores for UCLA:

Check out Milan Iloski's first career goal that put the Bruins up 1-0!#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/US8Wc1e6ue

— UCLA Men's Soccer (@UCLAMSoccer) October 6, 2017

 

Iloski was named Pac-12 Player of the Week: http://pac-12.com/article/2017/10/09/pac-12-mens-soccer-player-week

He's started in 3 straight games for UCLA.

 

Fr Eric Iloski scores the game-winner for UCLA, assisted by Milan Iloski and Brian Iloski. All 3 started.

It's a family thing. Iloski ➡️ Iloski ➡️ Iloski for the game winner and the @OpusBank #12Best Moment. pic.twitter.com/sgBFXp67wI

— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) October 16, 2017

 

Do you know what position Milan plays and how good he is? Was he a big name within RSL's academy? He's a '99, so he could play a part this U-20 cycle. Seems to be doing really well for a player his age in college soccer.

 

I haven't seen him play live, so I'm just going based on the occasional highlight video, but I'm pretty sure he's either an attacking mid or winger.

He was the leading goalscorer on the RSL U18s last year, who went to the quarterfinals in the playoffs. My understanding is that he was seen as the best player on that team (aside from Booth when he was around). And he got called in to the U19 YNT last February, playing up a year, so Friedel must like him.

I try to keep track of the RSL guys in college to guess who is in line for a HG contract. Since it looks like Tanner Dieterich has lost his starting spot at Clemson, I would guess that Milan is pretty close to the top of the list.

 

Dieterich did come one in the first half against Duke and play the rest of the game, so perhaps Dieterich will be back in the starting line-up. Clemson has a couple other strong CBs in Patrick Bunk-Anderson and Mallick Mbaye, so Dieterich has been playing as a #6.

I don't have time to watch the games typically, but people that do don't understand why Dieterich hasn't been playing as he has played well this year. I think Noonan like to attack defensively and press and have athletic type CBs and Dieterich really isn't that type of player. Might be part of it.

I don't know what is future is long-term as a pro. He seems about as good of a player in college as Kyle Fisher. A little better than Phanuel Kavita. More versatile than either, but Fisher is a 3rd or 4th CB in MLS and Kavita is a NASL/USL type player.

Also enrolled early so perhaps could graduate after 3 years and go pro.

 

Incredible goal from Aaron Herrera:

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2 true freshman started for UNM, both from RSL's academy. CB Nick Barreiro, 98, was the captain of the RSL U18s last year, and Alex Vedimanikam, FW, had 13 goals for the U18s. Vedimanikam has had occasional U18 YNT callups.

For UCLA, the brothers Iloski all started, along with Terwege.

Adding in Erik Holt for UCLA, that makes 6 of the 22 starters in this game from RSL-AZ.

 

This means Indiana GK Trey Muse now has the fourth-longest all-time streak of consecutive minutes w/o a goal allowed at over 900. #iums https://t.co/nabO9XZLmo

— Jeremy Price (@JPPrice) October 22, 2017

 

Benji Michel scored again last night. He has 10 for Portland.

 

Some notes on a handful of YNT-eligible college players. Some have been mentioned here - either by Dave, myself or others - before. Apologies for any redundancies.

Indiana freshman GK Trey Muse has some silly stats. He allowed a goal Saturday in a win over Wisconsin. It’s just his third goal of the season in 16 games and snapped a nine-game shutout streak. He is 13-0-3 with a 0.18 GAA and .933 save percentage.

He’s a 6-4 99 who came thru the Sounders academy.

Teammate Mason Toye, 98 who spent some time in the Red Bull Academy whom we’ve mentioned before, scored the game-winner this weekend against Wisconsin. He has 9 goals and an assist this year.

At 6-3, 180 he has the perfect target-forward build.

Junior MF Gutjahr, who was on the U20 team in the CONCACAF qualifying tournament, has played 10 games for the Hoosiers and yet to register a point.

North Carolina soph. MF Cam Lindley had a goal and an assist against Virginia Tech Sunday and has 7 and 10 in 16 games this season. Classmate Maurico Pineda also score against Tech and has 2 goals and an assist and freshman FB John Nelson has a goal and an assist while starting every game.

Wake Forest Fr. Omir Fernandez, a 99 from the Red Bulls academy, had 2 goals and an assist against Boston College and has 5 goals and 5 assist in 16 games, all off the bench. Brandon Servania, another Fr. 99 (from the FCD academy), had an assist against BC and has 2 goals and 9 assists in 14 games.

Fr. F Manny Perez had a brace as NC State upset Louisville on the road. A 99 who is not affiliated with an MLS academy, he has 5/4 in 12 games for the Pack. Were he to sign w/ MLS, he could easily be the top player taken. At least the top American player.

Teammate David Loera, a Fr. 98 from Orlando’s academy, has a goal and 5 assists in 15 games.

Maryland Jr. MF Eryk Williamson, who really should be starting for DC United right now, has 6 goals and 5 assists in 15 games for the Terps. Not sure what DCU’s plan is with Williamson given they have a lot of central MF options. Switch him to FB? Trade his rights? Let him sign abroad?

Donovan Pines, a 6-5 98 CB also from DCU’s academy has settled in along the Maryland backline and helped the defense post a 0.83 GAA.

Will “Not That” Pulisic, a 98 GK for Duke, stopped a PK in the end of OT against Notre Dame to preserve his sixth shutout of the year and lower his GAA to 1.03.

Florida International Jr. F Santiago Patino, a 97 whom Dave mentioned a few weeks ago, now has 12 goals and 4 assists in 13 games for FIU, which is one of two teams in D-I yet to lose this year. (Indiana’s the other.) Presumably he is draft-eligible (were MLS to allow underclassmen to do so).

I don’t think we’ve ever mentioned Pittsburgh when we discuss YNT players in college but Jay Vidovich has done a hell of a job turning that program around in just two seasons and a big part of that has been freshman forward Alexander Dexter, a service brat who was born in NYC but went to HS in Germany. Dexter scored his sixth goal of the season against UVa this weekend to go with 2 assists. I can not find if he’s a 98 or 99.

Out west, as mentioned before Portland Soph. F Benji Michel has 10 goals in 13 games. Classmate Rey Ortiz from LAG Academy, has 4 goals and 11 assists in 13 games. That’s third in the nation in helpers, one off the lead.

Stanford freshman Logan Panchot, a 98, has started every game in defense for a backline allowing 0.53 goals per game.

Washington Fr. MF Blake Bodily, who took a gap-year to stay with the Timbers academy a year ago, has two assists against Cal today and has 3/7 in 16 games this season. Sophomore F Elijah Rice, a 98 from RSL’s academy who came to U-Dub with a lot of USSDA hype, has 4 goals in 16 games.

New Mexico Jr. and last-summer’s U20 whipping boy Aaron Herrera has 5 goals and 5 assists for the Lobos.

SMU So. F Garrett McLaughlin, a 97, has 12 goals and 2 assists in 14 games for the Ponies. He’s from Oklahoma and was a club teammate of Lamar Batista, now in the Timbers system.

Michigan Jr. FB Marcelo Borges, who was in strong consideration for the U20 qualifying team but who has battled injuries most of the past year, has been healthy enough to start 10 games for the Wolverines this year, including helping them post a shutout over Ohio State this weekend.

That’s all I got for now. I’ll try and update more in a couple weeks and, as always, appreciate everyone else’s contributions on the YNT players in D-I.

 

Santiago Patino had a brace last night against a good Old Dominion team to keep FIU undefeated (Indiana the only other such team). He now has 14 goals and 4 assists in 14 games and FIU is the highest-scoring team in D-I, just ahead of Wake Forest.

An interesting teammate of his to watch is R-Fr. MF Allesandro Campoy, a 97 who is provisionally cap-tied to Haiti and went to HS in the US and the USSDA says he is a US citizen. In 14 games he has 7 goals and 7 assists.

Also this week, Akron soph. Nick Hinds, who got some looks from Tab last cycle, had a brace against Pittsburgh and has a team-leading 6 goals and 2 assists in 14 games for the Zips, who have one loss since dropping their first two games of the season.

Hinds is from Florida but he spent some time in the Sounders academy (not sure if it's enough to be HG-eliglbe.) He is listed as a defender but has also spent time in MF but I suspect his future lies at fullback.

 

Milan Iloski [99] scores from around 35 yards out:

🚨 Must-See Goal! 🚨

Milan Iloski scores a beautiful goal for his second of the season!#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/YI1nQBvUzJ

— UCLA Men's Soccer (@UCLAMSoccer) October 26, 2017