I didn’t see his game but based on your post, it could have been better. Consistency is important but especially for a gk.
Meanwhile, in MLS San Jose and Bruce Arena continue to start the most US players per game at 8.3, while also starting around 3 U23 Americans per game, followed by SKC, NYRB, Revs and DAL. Some teams (ignoring Canada), play almost (or no) Americans at all. pic.twitter.com/IP1zTwK1PO— Derek Richey (@BoomerRichey) March 9, 2026
Derek also clarified in the thread that that he took out players that were US eligible but represented different countries.
Which is dumb, really. The expectation that somehow these teams should suddenly bench or ship out a player simply because they picked another country (sometimes at the youth level!) is silly. It also isn't including other competitions which is odd because CCC, Leagues Cup and the later stages of the USOC are all quality competition.
100% true, but it is even more true when the switch came AFTER the player was in their system. If anything, it could skew the importance of the data in the wrong direction and give an inaccurate picture on the emphasis of the program. (at least in my opinion).
There are trends we can see in that spreadsheet, though. .......................Dallas having started the least number of American U23s is a thing. They do really well on Americans. They even start three guys who played in their academy. [Chirs Cappis, Michael Collodi, and Shaq Moore.] Kamungo came thru NTSC. Plus they use the draft well on Americans. Logan Farrington, etc. .............its a chicken and egg thing. Is Eric Quill not playing the U23 Americans? Or are the Americans coming out of their academy not good enough? If you ask Dallas fans, its more of the latter. Nolan Norris will see time this year. I don't doubt that. So they'll get that tick mark soon. [Also, note that Philadelphia has a reputation as the best academy in the country. They also aren't high on the list of U23 starts.] We're only three weeks in and those numbers will change a lot. San Jose and Arena shouldn't actually surprise people. He's always been a huge proponent of the American player. He hasn't necessarily played a lot of teens since his DCU days. I remember people lamenting that during his time with LAG. He wasn't giving the academy teens a chance, but gave lots of time to the older crew. Played Omar Gonzalez right away. That kind of thing.
San Jose also still has a cheapskate owner of course, that helps lock in the American journeyman, which Bruce flourishes with. Frankly speaking, if playing time for a "solid" American MLS player was a priority, San Jose should look reasonably appealing. Bouda, Kikanovic, Harkes, Skahan, Judd, Munie probably arent going to get as much time on other teams. Though I love the Brek Sheaification of Benji Kikanovic. Its starting to make sense.
And that's particularly true in the case of the largest current lightning rod, Miami. Sure, they won the title with "no" Americans, but there were three Americans plus a guy they shipping out because he asked to. All those guys started out American-eligible, and three of the four grew up here. No, they aren't an American-heavy roster, but they weren't devoid of them.
Judd and Munie should, at least on talent level. Judd would be hurt by the lack of two striker systems, but he's one of those dudes who is going to put up 15 goals a year reliably. Munie's good and versatile and the rest of those guys are definitely filler, but not in the bad way. More in the "you can be 3-0-0 with this crew if you play smart" way. Niko, Judd, Munie, Marie, Leroux are all quality and exactly what you need if you want to compete. Bouda and Benji are passable, as is Harkes/Skahan crew. However, it does make me wonder what the hell happened to Buck that he's still way down the line.
Bruce knows what he's doing in MLS. He won a Supporter's Shield with New England. NEW ENGLAND! Since he was put on administrative leave midway thru the 2023 season, that franchise has really struggled. They sucked before him. They sucked after him. Bruce Arena will get that San Jose bunch to the playoffs. I have no doubt. Chicago actually spends money. Berhalter got them to the playoffs after a long poor run, which was a good result, but Chicago spends money.
You touch on a few critical points. I'll just mention two of the more important (imo). The first is...well, evaluating the data and drawing any significant conclusions is impossible because....well it's more complicated than that. There are many variables: overall improved competition, normal fluctuations in the academy talent pool (for each team), and sales of players that would otherwise be counted, to name 3. As you allude to, the most important thing isn't 2 or three games in a season, it is a body of work over time and analysis of any trends that might show up and continue into the next season. One of the most surprising developments in my mind was that Portland actually played a U20 in their last game, but how much does it matter if he gets benched the rest of the season. He scored a goal but will he continue to feature? If he does, will he be the exception going forward?
You and me both, that is a story I want to hear. That was an intentional Bruce move too. He didnt have to go get him. He did. First game wasnt bench, second game was bench, third game wasnt bench. Is he really that fringe now that Jonathon Gonzalez is here? Buck never looked bad last year IMO. Id love to see "the idea of Jonathon Gonzalez" that we all had become Jonathon Gonzalez here. Id like to think hes better than what is currently starting........hopefully he upends someone.
Including Buck, right? If something happened I don't think it's because of the coach who played him when he was younger.
I don't know what happened to Gonzalez. He played over 3,500 minutes before he hit 20. I think Monterey won a title in there - they weren't shitty. Was there an injury? Because he's basically played that many since. And he's 26 now. I was never super enamored of him, but one has to wonder if he simply was a placeholder on an otherwise very good team. In contrast, Buck before that one injury was legitimately strong. He was all over the place. He was dangerous from multiple positions. He controlled the midfield. The injury didn't seem that serious. He seemed to play well with England after that ... but he seemed timid and off after that and has never been the same player. I don't think he lost a ton of speed or something, but he looked like a player before and never has since.
Player of the Week: Berhalter(9.3) Yapi(9.0) Parks(8.5) 23-and-under: Yapi(9.0) Brady(8.3) Westfield(7.7) 20-and-under: Westfield(7.7) Habroune(7.6) Hezarkhani(7.2) Ferree(7.2) Soma(7.2) Aaronson(7.2)
Buck apparently had a hell of a game for the Quakes II last outing, so hopefully more performances like that get him back in good graces and a reliable fixture in the future.
Strong start to the season by Robinson. Berhalter: leave for the Top-5 or stay for the bag? The kids continue to impress Surely, we'll have at least one top-tier keeper next cycle, right? Early doors, but a whopping 6 Americans are among the top-10 for successful dribbles. Last year, 15th in successful dribbles marked the highest placed American.
Berhalter will be an interesting case.......................... Will top 5 league clubs (or Champions League clubs from the Netherlands, Portugal, etc.) offer him a contract? Or will, in fact, Vancouver or another MLS clubs actually offer him the best deal. The aforementioned Miles Robinson is a perfect example of MLS actually being the best opportunity. I know he had a poorly timed injury vis-a-vi his free agency period. Still, Euro offers weren't better than MLS ones. There's a second USMNT-caliber MLSer whose contract runs out and the end of this MLS season. I forgot which one that is. [Edit: Oh, it was Freeman. Orlando chose to cash in.]
I'd be surprised if he left the league. He's going on 30 and signed a new deal this year, most likely for the kind of money that the European clubs who'd actually start him couldn't match.