Looking at the Spring Training media guide I downloaded from MLSnet.com, I saw a few familiar names, some that had been lost in the soccer wilderness for awhile, on some MLS rosters as "non roster invitees." Among these names were some players who are age-eligible for the U23 team. These include - Cody Anderson (8/6/81), Kansas City – Former HS standout in Missouri skipped college to bounce around Europe – skilled left-footed player. Bryan Jackson (4/16/82), Colorado – Former U17 starting MF, skipped college to bounce around Europe. Curt Spiteri (3/15/81), Chicago – U23 GK was undrafted – not sure why – after solid 4-year career at Portland. Nick Walls (3/31/81), Chicago – 4-year player at Saint Louis, speedy right mid wasn’t picked in the draft. Also, Phil Salyer (10/30/81), the former Maryland and U20 wingback who spent a year in Germany, has auditioned for several MLS teams, most recently with Dallas. Hopefully, he'll land somewhere soon. Also, Herculez Gomes, an 81 who is from SoCal who played for San Diego in D3 last year and has been with Mexican reserve teams in the past, is trying out with Los Angeles but for some reason isn't listed on their pre-season roster. He went with the team to Spain, playing in every game, and is with the team in Florida, scoring today against the MetroStars. Speaking of the MetroStars, there are some names on their roster from their "MetroStars Black" team that I don't recognize. Don't know if they are A) US citizens or B) 81 or younger, but I'll try and find out. The U23 pool of professional players, particularly in MLS, just continues to grow. I know Mooch has a core of guys picked out, but he's going to have a lot of players to monitor to see if they deserve a shot. I mean, if you pick your team too early, you can have what happened to Clive happen again, where he settled on McCarty and Dunseth and then didn't give a look to Garcia and Bocanegra after they debuted with solid MLS seasons in 2000. I don't think many of us outside of Columbus would argue that Garcia and Bocanegra are better players than Dunseth and McCarty. Yes, Clive still got the team to the semis. But, I think it's fair to ponder how much further they could have gotten with better backs.
It is interesting to see that Bryan Jackson is listed there. After he bounced around Europe I heard that he went home to rehab his injuries and that he was done with soccer. Does anyone know if this is his first action since then? And how has he looked with Colorado?
Thanks for passing along that info - in the same game, former Duke star Trevor Perea, an 81, played for the Crew. While I'm happy to see Perea in a camp, I gotta wonder why of all the teams in MLS, he'd try to catch on with Columbus. Of all the teams in MLS, the Crew are the last team that needs another young central attacking mid. They already have Kyle Martino, Diego Walsh and Jeff Matteo and I can't see Perea taking any of their minutes.
According to the MLS preseason media guide, Nat Borchers, an 81 who played 4 years at the Univ. of Denver and was MPSF player of the year last fall, is in camp with the Rapids. Here's a link to his college bio. http://denverpioneers.ocsn.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/borchers_nat00.html He's a defender but I have no idea if he's a center back or a wing back.