Just to be clear, I don't think Vanney is someone who could immediately help the first team. I just think he has at least as much promise as other VCFC players signed to what amounts to "Futures" contracts at age 17-18. It's typically a way to keep a player from leaving for college or LigaMX/Europe. So, he's at the right stage and has shown enough promise for that in my opinion. Even if he skipped the VCFC contract and immediately signed with the first team right now, he would likely still play the year primarily for VCFC in my opinion.
Oh that was not directed to you at all (and I would be glad to know if you noticed these weaknesses too), it was more of a warning for the people who are just loooking at the stats. At the moment Vanney is one of VCFC biggest propsects (probably along with Vicente Garcia, who's younger). Mason Vanney won't get the headlines but he has played fairly well too.
Dylan has improved at dealing with physicality, but he still has a ways to go. Several times last night he tried to dribble through two guys with contact and one time in particular I recall that he ended up dispossessed and looking for a foul call. He tries stuff (including threading the needle between two guys), which is great, but he needs to pick his spots. Sometimes, putting your head down and bulling through isn't the best option. Of course, we have some senior people who do the same thing! I was really opening up the topic because it's an interesting conflict of interest. From the perspective of Greg the Coach, he should persuade Dylan to sign so he doesn't leave for free and we're stuck with piddling training compensation. From the perspective of Greg the Dad, though, he should want Dylan to stay unsigned (since they aren't hard up for the $) so he has maximum transfer value because there would be no fee. One other perspective is Greg the Dad Coach who doesn't want Dylan to sign yet and subject him to abuse for being the coach's son or subject Greg to the criticism of engaging in nepotism, especially with fans already calling for his head. If he's going to stay in VCFC this year anyway, there's no point in rushing things anyway. If I'm being really cynical, Greg also may want to keep Dylan unsigned because it's a point of leverage for him with the club, but Dylan's not so good that AEG would hesitate to fire him because of Dylan. Now if he was Mathis Albert . . .
VCFC beats Real Monarchs Your Ventura County FC final score! 😎🔥 Siempre Adelante!! #mlsnextpro #vcfc #prosoccer #vamos pic.twitter.com/bnSkoLDbrf— Ventura County FC (@vcfcpro) April 13, 2026 Pepe Magana scores on a header GOOOOAL!!! Jose Magaña rises up and buries the header.1–0. Let’s go 💙 #VCFC #VenturaCountyFC #Goal #MatchDay pic.twitter.com/nMNWCJqHGY— Ventura County FC (@vcfcpro) April 13, 2026 Julian Placias scores on a PK Steps up and doesn’t miss! Julian Placias from the spot.2–0. #VCFC #VenturaCountyFC #Penalty #Goal #Composed pic.twitter.com/UW8GuCLt8r— Ventura County FC (@vcfcpro) April 13, 2026
Deserved win, VCFC looked the best team with a couple of changes : they started a 3-4-3 and were using a very high counter press. It worked as Mateo Tsakiris caused a Salt Lake 2 red card late in the first half. Vicente Garcia is always a joy to watch. His first touch is magical, and he got an impressive assist on a cross with his wrong foot. Julian Placias drew and scored a PK, which is good for his confidence, but also missed two easy chances late in the match. VCFC posted their third clean sheet in a row and, while the central defenders have looked good lately (Enrique Martinez, Pepe Magana and Sebastian Hernandez), it's once again GK Sebastian Conlon who grabbed the headlines with some amazing reflexes and a PK saved. Our reserves are now third in the West and I would say it's amazing and unexpected given how our team is young.
One thing to note is that this was Tsakiris' first action of the season with VCFC. Not sure why he hasn't been out there, but it was nice to see him get an opportunity. He's supposed to go to Clemson in the summer, but the Galaxy has convinced players to forgo college to sign with them before (Dalgado was supposed to go to University of Portland when he signed). Taskiris' brother Niko is has been one of the top young players in MLS this season with San Jose and was just named to the MLS Team of the Matchday.
Your starting line up for today’s match against @austinfcii 😎#mlsnextpro #vcfc #prosoccer #vamos pic.twitter.com/D9dJbqt4PI— Ventura County FC (@vcfcpro) April 18, 2026
I just finished the replay of the game against Austin 2 (which was played during our game at Dallas). Final score was 1-1, but this time VCFC lost the PK shootout. Goal was scored by Troy Elgersma (who had some lazy defending on the Austin goal later, something unusual from him) after a cross from Julian Placias. Credit to Placias on this play, but it's another game where he could have done better on the finishing side and I'm wondering if his excellent performance in the opener (he scored a brace) wasn't just a fluke. Otherwise I'll repeat what I said last week : Vicente Garcia is so skilled for someone of his age, it's impressive but I'm not sure he'll succeed as a winger, he's more suited to be an 8. GK Sebastian Conlon had another very solid game and, while he didn't have much success during the PK shootout, he stopped a PK in regular time and helped the team to keep a draw, as Austin 2 looked way better after the game-tying goal at the hour mark.
2-1 loss at St. Louis 2 just before the RSL game. In the end it was a remarkable performance : St. Louis is always hard to play and has a (much) older team, and VCFC were without Julian Placias and Troy Elgersma (who were with the first team), captain Sebastian Hernandez and GK Sebastian Conlon. Los Dos came back from a 2-0 deficit thanks to a goal by Dylan Vanney (after an excellent pass from Gabriel Arnold), and managed to stay in the match without some of their best players. Enrique Martinez and Mason Vanney both had botched clearances that lead to dangerous chances. Eric Preston had another headscratching performance, he has speed but he's killing the play almost every time he touches the ball. I don't see much quality in him. On the good performances front, Brady Scott had some nice saves for his first game of the season. Pepe Magana was solid but MOTM should go to Dylan Vanney for his nice goal and for being the heart of a very depleted offensive squad.
When Tsakiris' dad left the Galaxy Academy, but Mateo stayed, I figured he was either just marking time until he went to Clemson (where he signed) or he would eventually leave unless we were pushing to sign him to a HG deal. Given that we only started playing him with VCFC recently, I thought he had either been hurt or was out of our plans. Maybe it was the latter. Oh well. At least we might get $50K in GAM for our troubles 🇺🇸 Sources: USYNT midfielder Mateo Tsakiris has joined San Diego FC from LA Galaxy academy.Tsakiris, 18, will train with the club, no homegrown deal yet. If it happens, LAG get $50k GAM. Can also go to Clemson, where he committed to play college soccer. He is younger brother… pic.twitter.com/hmoNexJGDL— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) May 1, 2026
Rindov starting for VCFC Your Ventura County FC starting line up for today’s match against @sjearthquakes 💙 #mlsnextpro #vcfc #siempreadelante #prosoccer #venturacounty pic.twitter.com/pMQRuSmSOa— Ventura County FC (@vcfcpro) May 2, 2026
Just finished the last game, a 1-3 home loss against Quakes 2. VCFC were down 3-0 at the half after a wonderful goal from San Jose and two goals where the defense was way too passive. CB Sebastian Hernandez, who's not tall (he's 5 ft 7) was particularly exposed in the air and it was not the first time this season. He later scored our only goal. Not much positive in this game, except for Chris Rindov who had his first start of the season. Despite VCFC being outscored 0-3 during his time on the field, he looked very solid and was not involved in any of the goals.
Somebody on Discord asked me if losing Mateo Tsakiris was a huge loss. My answer at the moment is "no", as Tsakiris has decent vision and passing skills but never really impressed me. He's lacking some physicality in his game (same for Gabriel Arnold by the way) and it's hard to see at which spot he could succeed in MLS. But at just 18 with only 20 MLS Next Pro games under his belt, my opinion is not definitive. Your thoughts @Benny Dargle ?
This is a kid who was Galaxy Academy Player of the Year in 2024, a MLS Next All Star in 2025, and was on the squad for the U17 USYNT at the U17 World Cup in Qatar in November . He has legit potential, but I think he's going to take longer than his brother Niko if he makes it. His skills are best suited for the middle of the field (CM/DM), but VCFC played him 6 games at LB last year and moved him around some, which suggests they were still searching for where to play him. In any event, I really don't think this was a situation where we had much of a chance with him once his parents left. It was a question whether we wanted him or were just letting him stay. It's somewhat telling that he's going to San Diego when his parents left Galaxy Academy to go back up to NorCal and run a club there and his brother Niko plays for the Quakes. The obvious place for him to go would have been the Quakes, but I guess they weren't interested.
VCFC with a rare away mid-week road game at SKC2. Ramos Jr played with VCFC and scored a string goal that shows how dangerous he can be from distance. Dylan Vanney does the same and they win 2-0 Ruben Ramos Jr., fires through the traffic to double @vcfcpro's lead! 👀 pic.twitter.com/eruqJthH0A— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) May 7, 2026 Dylan Vanney with the thunder strike for the @vcfcpro breakthrough! 😤 pic.twitter.com/eVm9iNbTsA— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) May 7, 2026
2-0 win at SKC 2. I should be careful with my review as SKC 2 looked the MLS Next Pro version of their first team, so a weak opposition. Pepe Magana continues to improve as a very complete defender, and Sebastian Conlon had another excellent game. I wish we had some games to test Conlon with the first team (like Leagues Cup), he's really earning it. I've been very critical of Eric Preston in the past but I must admit he looked good in his last two games. Small and speedy winger who does the basic things but it worked. Dylan Vanney is still money near the final third, what a goal. But the star was Ruben Ramos Jr. with a goal and an assist, and overall an excellent game, possibly his best in a VCFC uniform. Not only he had a banger from outside the box (it's not the first time) but I thought his play as a playmaker was solid on numerous transition moments. And guess what ? He played as a striker. I've been advocating for years this is best position, and the fact he hasn't played a minute there with our two forwards out is a little bit depressing. I'm pretty sure he won't succeed at other positions.
I think the problem with Ramos Jr at striker in Vanney's system is that he's not a target striker like Klauss, he's not fast like Paintsil, and he's not a poacher or a a great runner in the box like Jovelic. If he can develop as a playmaker, he has a chance there, but I think that's why Vanney doesn't really know how to use him. I agree he's not a winger.
Joining this one in progress. Scott gets the start in goal Your VCFC starting line up for today’s match against @timbersfc2 💪#mlsnextpro #vcfc #vamos #siempreadelante pic.twitter.com/5WvvPjv6Ng— Ventura County FC (@vcfcpro) May 10, 2026
Vicente Garcia gets a goal for VCFC that looks eerily similar to Tucker Lepley's goal last night for the Oakland Roots Vicente Garcia with the GOAL!! VAMOS VCFC!! pic.twitter.com/lVA1grR4hI— Ventura County FC (@vcfcpro) May 10, 2026
We talk a lot in this thread about Dylan Vanney, but his twin brother Mason has some talent himself. He scores the second goal in first half stoppage time as the team takes a 2-1 lead over Portland 2 into halftime. Not too shabby to end the half 🤷♂️It's Mason Vanney who finds the go ahead goal for @vcfcpro! pic.twitter.com/tTuSQgi83h— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) May 10, 2026
Eric Preston, who is probably the only speed option we have at forward/wing in the reserves, scores on a great counterattack. VCFC 3-1 Preston gets behind the defense to put @vcfcpro up by two 🏃 pic.twitter.com/wTW3lTiSV7— MLS NEXT Pro (@MLSNEXTPRO) May 10, 2026 UPDATE: But VCFC gives on back less than 10 minutes later on a powerful header from a corner 3-2 UPDATE: Portland 2 presses VCFC into trouble in the back and scores a goal on a bad giveaway 3-3. That escalated quickly
Scott makes a kick save and gets bailed out by a foul call in the last minutes and the teams are going to the PK shootout.
I thought the team played an excellent game until our third goal, but some Portland goals were clearly avoidable. Overall it was a hard-fought game, but very disorganized from both teams. The star was clearly Vicente Garcia for VCFC, with a wonderful goal and a great assist (credit to him to recognize the excellent run from Eric Preston on his goal). Garcia may have needed this goal to be fully unleashed, he's so smooth on the ball but has never been that much of a danger in the final third. It could change after this game. Great goal from Mason Vanney. I've praised Harbor Miller a lot last year, I feel Mason can do very similar things inside the box, but Harbor is such a beast physically they're not close at the moment. Another player I'm discovering this year is Brett Phan. 17 years old midfielder, excellent sense of anticipation, very skilled, not afraid to go forward... It's not the first time I'm very impressed by him, and it makes the Mateo Tsakiris departure even more understandable. This VCFC team may not be excellent (even though they're clearly in a playoffs qualification pace), but I feel they're absolutely maximizing the results with the available personnel. Congrats to the team so far.
The little Classico tonight against LAFC2 Elgersma playing and Conlin back in goal after Scott got a few games Your VCFC starting line up for today’s match against @lafc_2 💪#mlsnextpro #vcfc #vamos #siempreadelante (fixed typo 😉) pic.twitter.com/J5cNH5hDW2— Ventura County FC (@vcfcpro) May 17, 2026