It's looking like we are going to have a lot of draft picks this yearand there are going to be some local guys that could fill our needs in the draft this year. Brian Carroll (Springfield,VA West Springfield HS) has spoken about leaving school early and he's a DM that may not be as athletically gifted as Ricardo Clark but he fits the DM role better than any player on our roster. He's in the U23 pool, he does have solid ball skills and he really carried the midfield at Wake forest this year. Hes a player that we should really look at in the latter half of the first round Another local guy that I have seen mentioned on these boards before is David Stokes (Dumfries, VA Hylton HS). Stokes is a Big back that can run. He can play outside in a three back set or as a center back in a four back set. Stokes is also in the U23 pool and what a lot of people don't know about him is that he played central midfield for Hylton HS and as a DM for the former U17 national champion Braddock Road Warhawks, so this kid does have solid ball skills. With the United States's current lack of good young backs, it would be a huge mistake to not even consider this guy. Next you would have to consider Stokes's former Warhawk team mate Abe Thompson (Fairfax,VA Woodson HS). Mark this down right now, I GUARANTEE that Thompson will be a better pro than Eskandarian. Thompson is bigger, faster, and more importantly not a total jerk. Esakandarian is too small and not athletically gifted enough to be a good MLS player. He is going to run into the same problem that Chris Carrieri (Stafford,VA North Stafford HS) is having. You can have a good work rate and decent skills and score goals in college, but when it comes to the pros you need something else. Thats what Thompson brings. Thompson brings a great work ethic, along with his size and speed. Thompson carried Maryland his freshman year and led them in goals and was second in assists. He was hurt last year and red shirted, this is the only reason he is not getting as much hype as Eskandarian. He came back this year, and led Maryland to the final four, anyone remember when UVA went out? oh yeah it was the second round, again! I really have not heard much about Thompson leaving early though, but if he does we really need to consider him, and I would like to state again that I think drafting Eskandarian, especially with the #1 pick, would be a huge mistake. Thoughts?
Abe Thompson led Maryland to the Final 4? Thompson was barely noticable in the tournament and dissapeared and was ineffective in MD's loss. Abe Thompson will be just like Ali Curtis.
I prefer David Stokes. I have never seen Carroll play. I have seen Abe Thompson play. UCLA's defense was very impressive. I guess I would pick Scot Thompson before Abe Thompson.
I'm not gonna argue about who is better than whom but I will throw some more names out. Kenny Arena, M, Virginia (and Oakton) Reb Beatty, GK, Loyola (Md.) Matt Behonick, GK, American Jon Cole, D, Virginia (and Annapolis) Ryan Gibbs, F, Virginia Niall Lepper, D, Loyola (Md.) Machel Milwood, F, Towson (and Largo) Matt Osborne, F, George Washington Osborne is British but born in 80 and Lepper from Scotland but born in 81 so both are eligible for transitional international status. And while we're talking about players from that great Black Hawks team that are pro prospects, let me throw out the name of Maryland D Clarence Goodson. He's 6-4 and not that thin but he is really strong in the air and very positionally solid. Probably not turning pro but someone to keep an eye on, especially if he gets thicker.
Thompson led the team in scoring all year, he led the team in scoring in the NCAA tournament, until UCLA did an excellent job at marking him. But you also have to look at the fact that the UCLA midfield did a solid job of preventing any solid services to Thompson. On a side note I also did not mention Matt Oliver (Potomac, MD Dematha HS) above. This is another local guy that will be in the draft. Oliver is currently playing at UVA and is another big center back like Stokes only not as athletic. He was a captain for the U18 team, but then fell off the U20 roster after he broke his foot. He was invited into the latest U23 camp. This is a player I think that we should consider if he slides to one of our latter picks.
Donovan on U.S. Olympic teammate Alecko Eskandarian: "I saw Alecko this week in Florida (for Under-23 U.S. Olympic camp) with the Olympic Team, just yesterday actually, and I've seen him play for a couple of years now. I think he's a wonderful player and a good person, which is just as important. I think Alecko will do just fine. I don't know where he's going to go, and his playing time will depend on who you're playing for and who the other forwards are. I think eventually Alecko will be a very good player and I think he definitely made the right decision to stay in MLS."
Thanks Sandon, its a good list and I didn't state this originally but I was only talking about the players that grew up in the DC area. Two of the players that I left off though were Kenny Arena (Fairfax,VA Oakton HS) and Clarence Goodson (Annandale,VA Woodson HS). Sandon mentioned Jon Cole from Annapolis but I dont know much about him. Kenny Arena is a ball winning DM. He does a lot of dirty work, and is known pretty well for hacking at a lot of skillful more athletic players. Arena is excellent in the air though, both defensively and offensively. But I also think that if I had to compare his abilities to one player I think Arena is a lot like ABMOD. He may be bigger and probably a million times better in the air then ABMOD but he also has about the same skill and athletic ability. Clarence Goodson is another former BRYC Warhawk, along with Stokes and Thompson. He is a tall lanky center back. He just recently made the switch to center back after spending most of his career as an attacking player. Goodson is solid in the air as well but not quite as Arena. He adds a different perspective to the defense, being former attacking player, and he also has decent quickness and decent ball skills. Like Sandon said, he probably needs to put on some weight, and IMHO another year in college could be very beneficial to that and learning his new position.
He reminded me of a young Alexi Lalas. I saw Lalas play in the NCAA final four quite a few years back, and he was a dominant player. Goodson certainly has the potential.
Braddock Road Warhawks Just another note on that great Braddock Road Warhawks team, that have a bunch of players scattered over top Division 1 teams. Erci Earnhandt...Penn St Chris Megaloudis...UVA...(not on nat. ch. team) Brent Chadoba...Columbia Zane Hill...UVA Jason Arnold...UMD Abe Thompson...UMD Shawn Kuykendall...American Clarence Goodson...UMD Kelvin Hill...Wake Forest David Stokes...UNC Nate Pearson...Radford Nino Marcantonio...UMD...(not on nat. ch. team) Players no longer active but played in college: David Kinitsky...California Rob Wolfer ...Georgetown Bobby Cordier...Villanova That's fifteen (15) Division 1 players and eight (8) in the ACC, I don't think too many club teams can claim this kind of success in sending players to the next level. Their coach Gene Mishalow deserves much credit for identifing the tallent and developing it. Note: Three (3) other players went on the play Division 3 soccer.
FYI - Niall Lepper was drafted by the Baltimore Blast with their Regional selection or whatever they call it. Doesn't mean he can't go in the draft though. I would love to see Reb taken with a late round draft choice. I think he could be a quality goalie in the MLS - think Zach Thorton without all the HoHos
Me thinks this thread might be heading away from DC related, but... Does Arena really possess enough skill to play in MLS? He hasn't impressed at all in his years at UVa. I feel the name may take him further than his skills... About the Warhawks... I played with Earnhardt in high school. While he quit Penn State's team this year, he's told me he expects to start next year. I'm probably biased, but if we're still in the market for a cheap backup GK for the 2004 season, he might be worth a look.
Johnaldo, Sorry to play "Stat Boy" here, but Dom Mediate led the Terps in scoring in the NCAA tourney. He scored all four of their goals until Sumed Ibrahim tallied their lone goal against UCLA. rmacc3ng, Being a PSU fan in State College, what happened with Earnhardt? I was wondering why he wasn't even their #2 keeper, did he not play at all this fall? Redshirt? Medical, academic, other?
just quit Eric Earnhardt just got tired of splitting time with Sickman and he was getting $0 for his trouble. He was considering a transfer after sitting out this past season but the Penn St staff offered him a good package to come back now that Sickman is gone. He's back for the next two seasons, one of which will be as a graduate student.
Eric hasn't mentioned anything to me about grad school, but if thats something he's worked out then more power too him. I guess it'll increase his chances of maybe getting a pro contract somewheres.
Considering Alecko Eskandarian bagged two very nice goals against Canada today in an U-23 friendly, it seems more and more likely that United will take him now with the #1 pick despite my hesitations about it.. As for the Abe Thompson versus Alecko battle, they are different types of players for sure and brign different qualities to the table.. Someone had mentioned that Thompson is similar to Ali Curtis and I would have to agree with that assesment but I do think that Abe is better skilled than Ali (let's face it, my left gonad is better skilled than Ali) which is a backhanded compliment in itself..