O'Rourke is definitly more accustomed to playing d mid in a 3 back system. However, he does not have nearly the amount of distribution skills or creativity to play attacking mid.
Palomares: No connection with Greenwood Mr. Cam, Greenwood indeed is one of our better soccer schools in Southern California, and most of their better players feed into the Santa Anita Soccer Club. However, Clint Greenwood would not claim Raul Palomares. Raul Palomares trained under his father Jose Luis Palomares, Sr. varsity coach of Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences, Santa Monica CA, goalkeeper coach at Loyola Marymount University, and technical director of Pacific Coast Soccer Club ( www.pacificcoastsoccer.org ), which has an unpublicized soccer camp at the end of August in Santa Monica. Jose Luis' other marquee prospects today are Jose Trinidad Gomez, who finished his school year at Bradenton Academy with the USA Under 17s, and Emmanuel Briceno, who will probably go to an Ivy League school in September 2003. This Club is not just about soccer: The Club helped five of its kids enter private preparatory schools with scholarships for September 2002 matriculation. The Club, by the way, has a Youth Development Program meeting just once per week on Sundays (with Raul attending most of the July sessions while he was on vacation from Croatia), using the Coerver Coaching (TM) method (see club web site and also www.eteamz.com/CCSM ).
wow ezpatari - that sounds impressive. Thanks for the great information. Sorry for the misinfo on Raul and Clint Greenwood. I just remember seeing him play on the old Cal Heat team and thought there was more of a relationship there.
Re: Soccer School? JOB was trained by Afshin Ghotbi before going to Holland. Ghotbi aslo did some work on scouting for Korea before and during the WC. He is currenly working with American Global Soccer School.
DC vs. UVA(Gibbs) here's a link from the scrimmage between DC and UVA. If any of you guys are interested. http://unitedmania.mlsfansites.com/story.php?news_ID=200537
We're roughly halfway through the college regular season and I thought I’d update the college players that both Glenn Myernick has looked at for the U23 team so far and the 11 I suggested should get a look. Those suggestions were based on what they did in past college seasons and, in some cases, in the PDL. And, as a reminder, the only players I considered were those who were born in 81-82 and thus age eligible for the U23 team and the 2006 Olympics but too old for the current U20 team. The first group is the 20 collegians Mooch has brought into a U23 camp at least once. Guy Abrahamson, Rutgers (Sr.) 9 games, 9 starts, 722 minutes, 1 goal, 1 assist Despite being onlu 5-10, he’s moved from defensive midfield to central defense for Rutgers, helping Rutgers yield 0.82 goals per game. Kenny Arena, Virginia (Sr.) 5 games, 5 starts, 0 goals, 2 assists. Stats don’t tell the whole story. He’s been in and out of lineup because of illness and UVa is 4-1-0 with Arena, 2-5-0 without him. Brian Carroll, Wake Forest (Jr.) 10 games, starts unavailable, 2 goals, 4 assists From his holding midfield spot, Carroll is captaining one of the 4 remaining unbeaten teams in the country, anchoring a midfield that is outscoring its opposition 20-5. Ned Grabavoy, Indiana (So.) 11 games, 10 starts, 3 goals, 6 assists The only U20-eligible player to get a look with the 23s so far, Grabavoy is playing the attacking MF role for the Hoosiers. Alecko Eskandarian, Virginia (Jr.) 9 games, 9 starts, 14 goals, 2 assists Simply on fire and making a case he’s the best attacking player in college soccer. Adolfo Gregorio, UCLA (Jr.) 8 games, 7 starts, 3 goals, 1 assist The right midfielder’s offensive numbers are a little disappointing but he’s helped UCLA back to the Top 10 and their defense is yielding only 0.71 goals per game. Nate Jaqua, Portland (Jr.) 12 games, 12 starts, 821 minutes, 8 goals, 4 assists Scoring consistently for inconsistent Pilots. Ricky Lewis, Clemson (Jr.) 8 games, 8 starts, 0 goals, 3 assists After 2 seasons at left back, he’s playing primarily in the middle and on the right, helping Tigers allow just 7 goals. Logan Pause, North Carolina (Jr.) 11 games, 11 assists, 0 goals, 1 assist Versatile midfielder has been moved to the back line. Trevor Perea, Duke (Sr.) 8 games, 6 starts, 1 goal, 0 assists Numbers don’t tell the whole story; Perea is finally being allowed to run the offense and not coincidentally, Duke is back in the Top 25. Paul Souders, Clemson (Jr.) 9 games, 9 starts, 2 goals, 4 assists Flank midfielder continues to build on last year’s breakout (7 goals, 6 assists) season. Curtis Spiteri, Portland (Sr.) 12 games, 12 starts, 1071 minutes, 12 goals allowed, 39 saves, 1.01 gaa Keeping Portland in games despite inexperienced back line. David Stokes, North Carolina (Jr.) 11 games, 11 starts, 1 goal, 0 assists Still adjusting to center back after 2 years as a left marking back. David Testo, North Carolina (Sr.) 7 games, 6 starts, 3 goals, 4 assists Missed some games due to a suspension and hasn’t quite found his groove. Jason Thompson, Eastern Illinois (Jr.) 10 games, starts unavailable, 14 goals, 0 assists Numbers boosted by a 6-goal game but he continues to put the ball in the hole. Scot Thompson, UCLA (Sr.) 8 games, 8 starts, 0 goals, 0 assists Moved from wing back to center back, helped the Bruins to 3 shutouts. Mike Tranchilla, Creighton (Sr.) 7 games, 5 starts, 3 goals, 1 assist Missed some games early in the season because of a death in the family and has yet to really get on track. Doug Warren, Clemson (Sr.) 8 games, 8 starts, 5 goals allowed, 37 saves, 0.65 g.a.a Entered the season considered the best GK college soccer and is living up to that billing. Jason White, Princeton (Sr.) 6 games, 6 starts, 9 goals allowed, 25 saves, 1.50 g.a.a Playing on a bad team that would be worse without him. Chris Wingert, St. John’s (Jr.) 11 games, 11 starts, 3 goals, 1 assist Arguably the best player in college so far this year, Anchoring the best defense in the country – 3 goals in 11 games – while also leading the team in goal scoring. And here are the 11 players – I tried to form a team as opposed to the best 11 players – that I suggested before the season that Mooch should take a look at. Besides being age-eligible – and a US citizen – the criteria for this team was not already having been called in to a U23 camp. GK – Mitchell Watson, Sr., NC State (3/26/81) 9 games, 9 starts, 18 goals allowed, 54 saves, 1.99 g.a.a Poor guy gets shelled game after game but the perennially inept Pack give him no support. LB – Jacob Ward, Sr., Azusa Pacific (5/5/81) 4 games, 4 starts, 0 goals, 0 assists NAIA All-American has been limited due to injuries. CB – Dustin Branan, Sr., Brown (5/21/81) 8 games, 8 starts, 1 goal, 0 assists Another good player toiling on a not-so-good team. CB – Matt Oliver, R-So., Virginia (11/5/81) 10 games, 10 starts, 0 goals, 1 assist Has been a bright spot for a defense that has struggled at times this year. RB – Will Thornton, Sr., Connecticut (1/27/81) 10 games, 10 starts, 0 goals, 0 assists Has started every game of his career and this year is anchoring a defense that is holding opponents to 0.7 goals per game. DM – Frankie Sanfilippo, R-Jr., San Jose St. (9/8/81) 11 games, 11 starts, 2 goals, 0 assists That a defensive midfielder is his team’s second leading scorer says a lot about both the player (good) and the team (bad). LM – David Wagenfuhr, Jr., Creighton (6/22/82) 7 games, 7 starts, 2 goals, 0 assists Has played well but not well enough to keep Creighton in the Top 25. RM – Marcus Storey, So., North Carolina (11/9/82) 11 games, 10 starts, 5 goals, 2 assists Maddeningly inconsistent, sometimes is brilliant, other times dismal. AM – Matt McCausland, Jr., San Diego (9/16/82) 12 games, 11 starts, 5 goals, 4 assists Playing primarily on the right flank and, rumor has it, drawing a lot of MLS types to USD games. F – Hamid Mehreioskouei, Sr., Bradley (2/15/81) 6 games, starts unavailable, 1 goal, 2 assists Injuries have limited his availability most of the year but he’s finally healthy and scored in his last game. F – Jordan Quinn, Sr., South Carolina (1/28/81) 10 games, 9 starts, 5 goals, 1 assist Big striker has kept the Cocks in a lot of games but they’ve lost their last 2 as he’s been shutout. Hopefully, sometime Tuesday or Wednesday I’ll post a list of other players who are age-eligible for Sydney whose play this season I think has earned them a look from Mooch. And, as always, I welcome the suggestions and comments of others.
Sandon, great job as usual. I think Ned Grabavoy is making a statement now about his ability to be a top attacking mid. I can't see him unseating any of the pro guys, like Convey, even if he does go pro, which I think he would have to do if he wants a shot at the Olympics.
Fun with lunch hour! I spent mine compiling this list of 81s and 82s still in college who I think should be considered for a look from Mooch with the U23 team based on solid seasons so far this year. Again, this list is for players that Myernick has not yet looked at. Memo Azarte, Jr., UC Santa Barbara (11/22/81) http://ucsbgauchos.ocsn.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/arzate_memo00.html 9 games, starts unavailable, 1 goal, 11 assists JuCo transfer is among the country’s leaders in assists while quarterbacking an attack that is among the highest-scoring in the country. Denny Clanton, Jr., Dayton (4/4/82) http://www.daytonflyers.com/menssoccer/playerdetail/DennyClanton_58.html 10 games, starts unavailable, 0 goals, 2 assists PDL Defender of the Year is reportedly playing well for an underachieving Flyers team. Bill Gaudette, R-So., St. John’s (9/14/81) http://www.redstormsports.com/pls/portal30/sportdev.bio_player?p_id=189&p_sport=MSOCCER 11 games, 11 starts, 26 saves, 3 goals allowed, 0..26 g.a.a He doesn’t face a lot of shots but he’s saving 90 percent of the ones he does see and he’s chasing the NCAA record for lowest g.a.a. in a season. Clarence Goodson, R-So., Maryland (5-17-82) http://umterps.ocsn.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/goodson_clarence00.html 10 games, 9 starts, 1 goal, 1 assist Converted forward uses his 6-4 frame very well and is very composed and comfortable on the ball. Alan Gordon, Jr., Oregon State (10/16/81) http://osubeavers.ocsn.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/gordon_alan00.html 10 games, starts unavailable, 9 goals, 4 assists Hulking (6-3, 195) JuCo transfer has OSU off to best start ever. Chase Hilgenbrinck, Jr., Clemson (4/2/82) http://clemsontigers.ocsn.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/hilgenbrinck_chase00.html 9 games, 9 starts, 1 goal, 4 assists A pure left-footer who can play wide back or wide mid, he’s playing well for a solid Tigers’ defense. Roger Levesque, Sr., Stanford (1/22/81) http://gostanford.ocsn.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/levesque_roger00.html 10 games, 10 starts, 5 goals, 12 assists After breakout junior year (14 goals), Levesque is showing he can create as well as he can finish. Mike Littlefield, So., Coastal Carolina (No DOB available – could be an 83) 10 games, 10 starts, 13 goals, 2 assists http://www.coastal.edu/athletics/?f=soccerm/players/mikelittlefield&m=soccerm/soccermmenu Competition isn’t the highest but he’s putting up big numbers for an undefeated team. Tim Regan, Sr., Bradley (6/27/81) http://www.bubraves.com/cgi-bin/bio?id=1821 11 games, 11 starts, 1 goal, 2 assists Braves are undefeated, in large part thanks to Regan anchoring a defense yielding 0.56 goals per. Chris Sawyer, So., Notre Dame (10/20/82) http://www.fansonly.com/schools/nd/sports/m-soccer/mtt/sawyer_chris00.html 10 games, 10 starts, 10 goals allowed, 31 saves, 0.99 g.a.a. Solid play has kept low-scoring Irish in most games. Abe Thompson, R-So., Maryland http://umterps.ocsn.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/thompson_abe00.html 10 games, 10 starts, 6 goals, 5 assists Former U17 star is finally healthy after breaking his foot twice in 8 months and is now playing like he wants back in the youth national team mix. PS - Karl, I agree about Grabavoy. I think Charleston will be a big factor in determining his potential Olympic future. And, only 3 ACC players on the above list - I'm doing better!
Levesque I've been wondering about Levesque. He's putting up outstanding numbers for the second straight season for one of the top teams in the country. Any insight on his potential and why he hasn't been looked at? Hopefully it's not because he's from Maine...
Re: Levesque I've seen quite a bit of Levesque at Stanford, and IMO, he's an excellent prospect. At the collegiate level, he's a target forward (6'2 with good aerial skills) and a guy who chases down long balls and a guy who strikes a ball with precision, whether it's a shot or a pass. Plus, he's intelligent, unselfish, and hard-working. He's earned the attention of US Soccer. At the end of last season, he developed some back problems and sat out for a long time. I expect that's why he didn't get a call-up then. But with big forwards like Buddle, Casey, and Jaqua born in the same year, somebody has to be the odd one out. IMO, we've had a remarkable change of fortune at target forward. McBride was out for most of World Cup Qualifying, and we didn't have a single decent back-up. This year, he's made a spectacular return, and a swarm of potential replacements have begun to emerge.
I saw some of San Jose in their 2-1 OT loss against Stanford last week. From what I hear, the big problem is that their top keeper is out with injury, and his back-up is having a nightmarish season. Also, former U-17 Nat midfielder Fausto Villegas has been out with appendicitis. And finally, the team is very young, especially at forward. With problems at goalkeeper and forward, it's not surprising that they look bad on the scoreboard. However, the team has some real positives; until the overtime, they played Stanford evenly. Their midfield controlled the ball well (though Sanfilippo didn't stand out), and their two center backs were very strong. With improved health and experience, they should finish the season strong.
Sandon, you're simply incredible. Someone make Sandon an All-Star already!!!! I think Abe Thompson and Kenny Arena are underrated. I guess I'd say they're "sleepers" as nobody seems to think they're great prospects for MLS, and many don't think they'll make the league at all, but I do. Arena in particular adds a lot to a team but isn't very stylish, so often gets thought of as a hack, but he's a real difference maker, enforcer, defensive hammer and glove, and a real team leader. -Tron
Next???? What's coming up for the U-23's and when will a group be brought together for a camp? Who will coach them?
Will Thornton is purely a left-back. He could never, ever, under any circumstances, play on the right. Other than that, good work.
Hey all! New to the board and just read all the comments for this thread. Just a few quick things that I'd like to point out. First of all, as far as Mira Mupier goes, he can't play on the national level. I played with him this summer in PDL. He's a solid player. Fast and strong but I was never very impressed with his skill level. Don't get me wrong, he's an excellent player, but not national caliber. Second was a post considering Mike Littlefield. Played against him this year in college. He's a decent player but no way in heck he'd make the nats. And finally Kenny Arena. Without a doubt the most overrated player I've played against. Played against him in college this year and he was pretty much useless. Maybe he was off but I've seen him several times and I've never been impressed. The only thing he really has going for him is headers. No one can win one off him.