Someone who I don't think is being talked about enough is Richie Ledezma. He's a late '00, and I think he's gotten a few call ups, but he wasn't really considered a part of the pool for the U17s. My guess is that he was always a few months behind the other guys, and staying in a good environment at RSL has helped him catch up. I personally thought Ledezma looked great in the time I saw him against France. He had a boat load convincing touches, perfect long balls, and great awareness of his teammates. @bshredder just posted about him being in contention with all of the faces we already know (Durkin, Goslin, Adams, Sands, etc.), and I'd personally like to applaud Tab for calling him in and giving him as much playing time as he did. I'd like to think he'll get a lot of time for the Monarchs this year, but who knows.
Soto and Ledezma should probably both be getting regular U-19/U-20 call ups, and regular Monarchs play. If you have a USL team, why not use it to bring youth players through?
So happy to see Richie Ledezma get time and show well. My son has grown up playing with Richie since they were 8 (still play at RSL together), and the only knock against Richie has always been his size, but technical ability and soccer IQ are of the highest level, which is nice to see rewarded in our youth system. For those that aren’t familiar, Richie can play anywhere in MF from deep lying playmaker to the #10, is confident and quick with the ball, great movement off it, can play or finish the final ball, and hits a wicked free kick. Grew up and developed in Phoenix area.
No clue, but this was the result. Maybe someone who attended will put the match on youtube. I'm hearing the U.S. U20s drew Atletico Madrid's U21s this morning 1-1. Not sure yet on goal-scorer. Even match against a good Atleti side, I hear.— scuffed (@scuffedpod) March 27, 2018