Merritt is overrated, IMO, and Watson needs a lot of maturing. I really like that kid from UVA, Colaluca. Very skilled, plays fast, he's not a head down dribbler and he sees the field. He could go right now. I agree with ukforunc86 about Harrington. Physical, technical, and fast. He has tremendous upside.
I have to second LdB's thoughts here. I saw this kid for the first time this past weekend, and he is one of the best I've seen in several years. He's very creative, dangerous, and fun to watch.
For Santa Clara, I've often talked about Igwe. He has all the physical tools. But I have to say, he needs to put those tools to better use if he wants a shot in the MLS. Bellouchy, has the ball skills and vision to make it in MLS. He's a complete player. Another player I like is senior captain and last years goal leader Will Weatherly as a mid/forward. He really showed me something this summer in a Quakes/Broncos friendly. He could have played for either side. Unfortunately, I haven't seen the same game out of him so far this college season. But he'll get a look. Defensively, I'd say 6-2 Ryan Purtell has a shot. I agree that Stanford doesn't have any individual players that could step onto an MLS field. Collectively, they play a great game to make up for it. San Jose State has one player that opened my eyes and that is midfielder Frank Mata. He looked like he was a cut above anyone in the Stanford/SJS game earlier this year. USF has a U-20 defender Kevin Long. At 6-3 he's a presence and he's possesses good footwork to boot. Forward Aaron Chandler is a tremendous athlete and USF's main offensive weapon with a lot of speed and technical skills. Unfortunately, I have missed all Cal games this year, so I can't round out the Bay Area prospects. But they've got a great team so I'd suspect they have a few contenders as well.
On the West Coast, I rank Ballouchy above all others. Expect to see Enfield, Lopez, and Barrett go pro, as well as Klaas, Merl, Munoz and Roberts. And Findley, Ustruck, Lowry, Owens, McClung, Guy, Kamani Hill and Purdy down the road. My sleeper prospect is UCLA's sophomore Benny Feilhaber. UCLA is so deep in the underclass ranks that there are, no doubt, players desiring more playing time. With only a few Seniors leaving after this season, this situation won't change much in the future. A transfer or two wouldn't be surprising. Between the pipes, Kennedy, Eylander, Kartunen, and Friesz are on my list. The player most likely to leave school early is Chad Barrett. He's ready to play at the next level and needs to have that development opportunity.
I should clarify, that I do not think that these players are MLS prospects right now, but by the time they are seniors they have definitive chance to make it to the next level and should be watched. Thanks for your expert opinion after seeing them play one measley exhibition game with liberal substitutions and little competitive implication. I'll refrain from judging any SLU players for the same reason that I have not seen them enough to make an educated guess as to their potential, however Branan is a solid defender that should get a look.
I may have missed it, but it doesn't seem like many people are talking about Justin Moose this year after he nearly made the last U-20 team. Is he hurt or having an off season?
LDB you seem to know as much as anybody....I was told this morning by a kid from Conn that was high school mates with a UVA fresh Dane Murphy who according to UVA site has not played much...subbed in 5 matches with their early cupcake schedule....This kid said Murphy told him because he has money and does not need scholarship and therfore free to college coaches he had a better choice of schools..makes sense so far...Then he said because his ODP coach was UVA asst. that if he came to UVA the UVA coach could get him added to U-18 and later U-20 pool even though he was not residency program etc....because it helps UVA to say they signed a National team player..... Could this be true....a college coach would add an incoming player to the pool to pad his resume??????? If the kid was true NATS quality you would think he would play in more matches
I saw Wake play against 2 ranked opponents and was impressed with the team and particular this Moose lad....He reminded me of your Landan Donovan ....great pace running at players, good passer and crosser.....small but so is donovan....Also I read he did well in the PDL last summer..... has he been on any of the US NATS??? I would think he would be a certain pro prospect
Yes. There are a lot of older posts on this forum and the youth national team forum discussing Gelnovatch using the U18 national team to aid in his recruiting and player development. Do a search on big soccer - not the internet - on Gelnovatch and see what it comes up with.
Kartunen may be able to make the leap, but he's definitely a couple years away. I believe he is a sophmore now, and generally is the #2 behind Fulton (who, perhaps ambitiously, was listed as a pre-season Hermann candidate). That said, he should start for Stanford next year and has long had the eye of ODP and Youth National team coaches.
First of all the SLU vs Creighton game was an extremely competitive game. Anytime SLU vs Creighton play it's a war! The attendance approached 4000 fans which is a large crowd that brings out all the competitive juices of a player. Right? You should know that. Secondly I've seen Biggerstaff, Weiland, and Nash play several times. Thirdly Creighton made a grand total of 5 substitutions in the match as did SLU. Most of the feature players for both teams played the full 90 minutes. Skinny minny little Timmy Bones played 25 minutes of very forgetable soccer. Fourthly, thanks for recognizing me as an expert! You have a sharp eye for recognizing talent Lad! Since you bring up Branan I agree he does have a chance to play at a higher level. Other potential MLS players from SLU include Ryan Wileman, Martin Hutton, John DiRaimondo, Will John, Tim Ward, Alex Matteson, Brian Grazier, Mo Benne and several others.
IMO, Moose can play in MLS, but probably as a right sided MF. He's also a good withdrawn forward, but in the pros, I could see him as a flank player. He also looked very good this summer in the PDL.
So I looked at DI for the first time this season... and I found UNCG and New Mexico at the top of the rankings. Any good pro prospects at those schools? The only one I can think of off the top of my head is Jeff Rowland at New Mexico, who was tearing up the PDL this summer...
There was definitely some behind the scenes dookie mess goin on between Gelnovatch and Dane committing to UVA. Right after he committed to UVA he was suddenly being called up to the u-18's.........
I agree, but he might stay to finish college. By the way great username. Did you see his goal against Russia. There's only one Ronaldo (Cristiano)
Dont forget Watson is really a fresh...18 yr old.....he was subbed tonight at the 24 minute mark in 1st half........43 minute ...score UNC 1...VA tech 0......This Watson strikes the ball as well as anyone his size....he takes the ball out of the air ..one time...like a pro....he reminds me a little of Allen Smith....a punk on the pitch....maybe not all bad if not direct at his teammates...and maybe he needs to play this way....the trash talking thing started in the US with your NBA and NFL guys.....maybe some player get motivated .....I have always thought it is not a good idea to anger the opponent...so I personally dont like the trash talking.....but I do like Watson.
Uk, you have said before that this is a thinking man's sport. When you anger an opponent they tend to take it to a personal level and lay aside strategy. The thinking portion goes out the window and hence they will commit more fouls and lose control. It only makes sense to me that getting into your opponents head is what you want for a thinking man's sport. BTW, it's good to see Watson get some playing time and start getting into his game. He's scored on his last two outings. Good match. NC State next.
I sure hope we can get some of the guys from Nebraska into the pros. I have gone to almost every home game and I can see that the team plays with alot of our homegrown talent and it's great to see us doing well again this year. The stadium is great. From what I have seen, I think a number of the players have MLS potential. While I know Wieland gets a bunch of press and coverage, I just can't see him competing at the next level as much as I can see guys like Nash or maybe Kraus even though I have not seen him play this year and some of the other defenders. That Peterson kid is good and he still has 2 more years. Brett Rodriguez who I think is a senior has the physical tools to compete. He is fast, tough and can really get off the ground. Fun to watch. He would match up well with good athletes unlike guys like Wieland or some of the mid fielders who are not that athletic but with good skills. I agree Tarver is good and the goalie is as big as a horse and pretty agile which is an advantage in the pros.
Fev, I understand your point and maybe in basketball I would agree but it seems to me that (1) you could motivate the defenders to play harder or more intense and (2) certainly could create a hard tackle that could end the season.....especially if you are 2 or 3 goals up I would perfer a side to give up versus fight back.... And I hope you are also right that UNC is coming together at the right time and I hope it is not too late as far as loses go....Every lose was to a ranked team at game time....if that matters to the tourney committee.....Maybe UVA and Duke have the right idea to cupcake out of conf to insure a good record.... As a fan I perfer to see the tough team win or lose....much more entertaining for the fans to see 2 quality sides... Go Heels