YNT-eligible lower division-pro players: 2022 IN-SEASON thread

Looks like Freeman was announced as joining Loudoun today. That’s a good signing for them. Hopefully he can have a successful season and then I think it’s possible he moves up to DC United next season.

Duenas probably won’t actually be ready to play until mid/late summer, as he tore his ACL last August.

 

🚂Thwack! A thumping finish by Emmanuel Sonupe makes it 1-0 @eplocomotivefc in California.
pic.twitter.com/H7llHRdRvP

— The Striker (@TheStrikerNews) March 13, 2022

Diego Luna with an assist

 

DC United could use this type of playmaking.

Kimarni Smith scores the first goal of the 2022 @USLChampionship season! pic.twitter.com/ZzNu7747p7

— Loudoun United FC (@LoudounUnitedFC) March 12, 2022

 

I have such a soft spot for smooth, fluid attackers (i.e. Reyna, Ledezma), and TKD absolutely fits that mold. I think he'll get his shot with DC sooner rather than later.

 

Noticed that highly regarded 2007 center-mid, Nate Worth, was added to the NYRB II roster in the USL.

Let's see if he can earn some minutes 👀

— Marcus Chairez (@chai_asc) March 14, 2022

 

Pretty terrible first week for the thread-eligible players, but I'll go through it.

El Paso: Diego Luna ('03) had the best game of any of them. He was dominant. He had an assist on the only goal for his team, could've had another few assists, and also was close to scoring. I think aside from his lack of athleticism and fitness issues that his whole attacking skillset for a #10 is really good. Nothing may be elite, but he's capable of doing everything well. He really shouldn't be in this league anymore though. He was too good for it after last season. Did any better teams have interest? Why is he still in USL?

Charleston: Emmanuel Johnson ('03) had an appearance off the bench, and didn't have much impact. I didn't like how he was used though. They put him at RW. If you use him as a RW he's going to run straight ahead and try to power through defenders. I don't think that suits his game. Use him as a CF or fullback. His ceiling is very low as a winger.

Memphis: Max Talley ('04) only had a brief appearance off the bench, but I was impressed. He looks to play the game a little like Daniel Edelman.

NYRB II: Curtis Ofori ('05) had a lot of the same issues as last season. He was beat for a goal because of poor defensive awareness at the back post. He also was constantly caught out of position. I think there are some tools there to be a starting caliber MLS LB in 3-4 years, but he's going to need to show some improvement defensively in the upcoming years to be able to advance to MLS. His offensive/athletic profile is about average. It's good enough that if the defensive side of the game comes that he can be a well-rounded player, but he's largely missing the defensive component, and there's no real standout skill. Samuel Williams ('05) played his typical game in midfield. Does a job. Almost never much worse or better than that. He's consistent and can also play RB, so there's some versatility. Not sure there's high upside in his game.

Loudoun: This was the best of the MLS II teams this week. Theodore Ku-DiPietro ('02) didn't have his best game, but he still made about a 70 yard run and then played a nice pass through a few defenders to assist a goal. He should be playing in MLS as soon as he regains full fitness. Jacob Greene ('03) was playing RWB in this game. He had about an average game. He was active in the first half, and not so much in the second half. Pretty nondescript game from him. Jackson Hopkins ('04) came off the bench, and played pretty well. It was a lot like last season where he's constantly involved in goal-scoring chances, but he just couldn't score. I thought this game his finishing was a little weak, including a missed penalty, although I maintain the problem last season was bad luck. Tyler Freeman ('03) also came off the bench, and played well. He was active and drew a penalty.

Louisville: Joshua Wynder ('05) had a very quiet game for Louisville, which for a CB isn't a bad thing. He looks to be a starter this season, which would be good as Louisville is usually one of the better teams in USL and you wouldn't expect a 16 year old CB to be a starter for a team at this level.

Atlanta II: Efrain Morales ('04) had about an average performance. There was some good and some bad. The good is that he looks to be reading plays a little quicker, which has been one of his biggest problems. His processing speed prior to this season has been slow. He also has been prone to big errors, which he didn't make in this game. He did make a few weak decisions, but nothing too egregious. The touch he has for a big man with mobility is crazy. He's so comfortable with the ball. Too comfortable IMO because he believes he can always find his way out of pressure when he sometimes can't.

The bad is that his attempts to defend drive me crazy. He is 6'4 and looks to have gotten stronger. He should be able to win challenges by muscling players off the ball, but he's showing bad habits by trying to reach at the ball to win it back because he has long legs and knows he can usually get close to the ball doing so. It might not be too ineffective at this level, but it will be at higher levels as the game is quicker, more skilled, and more athletic. Also, he should be using his frame and trying to win challenges with more physicality. Thats what top level midfielders do. I understand he's a raw 17 year old, so he may not make some of these types of decisions, but he needs to learn better defending habits if he's to ever get to the top level.

Vicente Reyes ('04) had an up and down game. Some very nice saves, he's comfortable with the ball at his feet for a goalie, but he's also very raw. His passing isn't accurate enough yet. He's too jittery in goal. He's constantly flapping at the ball and taking himself out of position. He also let in a shot right through his body that a pro goalie needs to stop. There's potential, but he's raw. He's like a raw version of Antonio Carrera IMO.

Jonantan Villal ('05) came off the bench, and was effective in creating attacking chances. I've seen him play better games (and better games at this level), but you can tell that his raw ability to create is so much better than the guys they were starting. You also see some of this stuff at USL where the teams will start the older players early in the season and the minutes of the real prospects will suffer. If Atlanta wants to win games, he should be starting the next game because he's their best attacker.

Orange County SC: Alex Villanueva ('05) at LWB had a pretty quiet game. I wouldn't say he was bad, but he's usually a lot more active. May need a few games to adapt to a new team.

Kobi Henry ('04) was pretty terrible. He's usually not this bad, but this game it's hard to say it wasn't a bad performance. He was at fault for one goal completely after he lost concentration, and a player got in behind. The second one he was trying to cover after the defense was unbalanced. I wouldn't say the goal was mostly his fault, but a very athletic CB (as some seem to think he is) would've gotten over there in time to contest the shot better. He was also pretty weak with his passing when pressured. His technique needs a lot of work. I'm not of the belief he's a non-prospect, but this was a terrible game and I think USSF significantly overrates this guy. We have very many U-20 CB's better than him.

Las Vegas Lights: Christian Torres ('04) had a mostly anonymous performance playing as a winger. I'm not suggesting he's a non-prospect, but he was overrated early on due to playing MLS games as a 15 year old. He's a pretty generic attacking midfielder/striker without any high-end tools. If he plays for Mexico, I don't think it's much of a loss for our program. Antonio Leone ('04) had a pretty quiet game. He started out at CB and then moved later on to RB. I would say he was slightly more bad than good, so more of a slightly below average performance than anything, but he had little impact in a good or bad way.

Los Dos: Marcus Ferkranus ('03) came in late for some defensive work with the team trying to see out a draw with only ten men, and made a few plays he was called on to make. I don't know why the team has two CB's who are starting ahead of him. That is poor roster planning. Ferkranus would likely be ready for MLS minutes this season at any other club, and now he's not able to start USL games? LAG needs to sort out their development of young players. Seeing that he was only able to get a few minutes in this game when he probably was fit to start is something that deserves criticism. If they want young players to sign with them in the future, you can't have a roster where Neal isn't getting MLS minutes yet, you bring in a good veteran USL CB, and then Ferkranus can't get into the USL lineup.

Jalen Neal ('03) was about average. The highlights paint a picture that he was the reason they lost, but it was a very fluky set of results you see once a season for a very good player where the bounces just don't go your way. He ended up allowing the game winning goal in the 97th minute after a shot hit the crossbar, came down and hit him, and then went into the goal. There's nothing he can do about that. Bad luck. He was partially at fault for the other goal. He was a step slow defending a slip pass. I thought he was capable of defending the play by getting over there in time or using a slide tackle, but it seemed like he might've been afraid to commit a penalty. It wasn't an egregious error, but he takes some blame for the goal. Aside from that, he was pretty good. His passing even looked slightly more progressive. You can't say a CB played well when they contributed negatively to two goals against, but it's nothing I'm worried about.

 

Here's a feature on a new California NISA outfit. I haven't looked closely at the roster for thread-eligibles but the story mentions Christian Dean and Dom Kinnear's son.

https://www.smdailyjournal.com/spor...cle_40c9ea5c-a66a-11ec-b613-8bb54b408ef2.html

 

Loudoun bench today has a lot of academy kids (Clark, Akinmboni, Turner, Espinal). No TKD, which likely means he's with the first team.

 

On first team bench!

 

LETHAL. @tylerfreeman23 puts us in the lead against New York Red Bulls II🐍 pic.twitter.com/XewL0Y3j0K

— Loudoun United FC (@LoudounUnitedFC) March 19, 2022

.@jacob88j with the finish and the moves 🕺 pic.twitter.com/EAGHCPMoWL

— Loudoun United FC (@LoudounUnitedFC) March 19, 2022

 

Loudon FC has made a dramatic turn around from 2021. After 3 games, they've allowed zero goals with a 2 win and 1 tie record.

Six thread quality players played in 0 - 0 game vs Miami, starters H Sargis, J Greene, J Garay and thee subs: T. Freeman, I. Espinal (16 years old) and M Akinmobi (age 15)

Not sure if anyone is USMNT quality but I can see Garay and Greene playing in MLS for 10 plus years if they can just get their passing down. They still have too many weak passes that were a good ideas but picked off or killed momentum.

I'm curious about academy watchers take on Espinal? He is small and can't get much power on his shots at moment but he had one eye opening run when he came on: He received the ball outside of the box and took on a defender and attacked the box. On the dribble, he opened up his body like he was going to pass to the spot, freezing the defender, then accelerated past his marker to the endline getting a cross off that didn't hit the mark. His ability to make that play at speed was impressive. But a player needs more than ball control to be a good player. So far he has had two 15 minute cameos so not enough film to determine him future.

 

I think Espinal is probably only a USL level player eventually. He has some flashes of the types of things you mentioned, but his skillset is likely not dynamic enough IMO for a player with an average, at best, athletic profile.

I think Clark is the best of the DC 05’s. He’ll be a first team player IMO. I think his ceiling all depends if he can stick at CB. At RB, he’s probably only Tayvon Gray. At CB, he could be Mark McKenzie. Brandon Meminger, Joost Almekinders, and James Snaith are all in that Espinal territory of USL being most realistic. Clark is the only real relevant ‘05 nationally among the DC crop IMO.

 

17 year old Jonny Villal tonight in his first professional start: 2 assists, 4 key passes, 4/4 on dribbles, 3/4 on long balls, 2/2 on crosses, 7/7 on ground duels #ATLUTD

— ATLUTD Prospects (@ATLUTDprospects) March 28, 2022

 

This hat trick from '01 Jackson Conway earned him league POTW:

 

Games from last week.

NYRB II: Serge Ngoma ('05) started and was subbed out early with an injury. He had a few nice sequences, but nothing too great. Curtis Ofori ('05) was a little better than the last few games, but a lot of the same defensive problems.

Louisville: Josh Wynder ('05) has been really good this season. I wouldn't call him a revelation because we knew about him last season, but he's showing that he can step into a starting role this season and play very well. The passing may be a little better than I initially realized. I would say it's above-average after previously saying its slightly above-average. The rest of his age is average or slightly above average, but he's a 6'3/6'4 CB that doesn't have any real weaknesses. I was trying to think of where he stands nationally among 05's, and I would say top 10 or so is about where he is right now. Look for him to head to Europe after the 2023 USL season.

Carlos Moguel ('03) got a significant run-out in this game. This is probably the most extensive playing time I've seen him get the last two seasons. I would say he's a very basic type of #8. A little undersized, but aside from that he's not a standout player in any part of the game in a positive or negative sense. He can probably work his way into a bigger role with this steam eventually, but I don't see him as anything more than a very fringe prospect.

Atlanta United II: Efrain Morales ('04) had an average half in the first game of the week. Then he came off at the half, and didn't play in the second game. He's probably injured.

Jonantan Villal ('05) had two assists in the second game of the week. I actually thought he was more effective in the first game of the week coming off the bench than he was during the second game, which he started. I know I've been saying that they need to start him to help results, and then he starts and has his least effective game of the season, but he still did have two assists. Thats how soccer goes sometimes. Your worst game the bounces go your team's way and you get two assists. He's been very good so far this season in USL.

San Diego: I don't think Calvin Fodrey ('04) is much more than a fringe pro prospect. Slashing type of forward with some athleticism and size. Lacks more than average tools.

El Paso: Diego Abarca ('05) got his pro debut. He was starting as the RCM in a 4-3-3. I didn't think he looked like more than a fringe prospect. LCM with a good left-foot. Lacked aside from that. Noe Coutinho ('03) also got his debut. He was playing a false nine type of role coming off the bench. He had a hustle play that helped lead to a goal, but didn't add much aside from that.

Las Vegas: Julian Gaines ('02) scored a very nice goal in the first game of the week. This game he had been subbed in as a winger. He picked the pocket of a defender, and then played a give and go with a teammate before finishing well. In the second game of the week he was finally back at RB and started this game. He was about as effective as he usually is. Not a lot of exciting plays at either end of the field, but he's one of the better fullbacks you'll see at this level. He might've had a little fault on a goal against with being caught slightly out of position after his team lost the ball, but it would be harsh to blame him too much for the sequence.

Pittsburgh: Wyatt Borso ('04) played his first game of the season starting as a RWB in a back 3-4-2-1 formation. He added some energy, defensive effort, and combined well in the attack. He was effective in what he was asked to do, but I didn't see a guy that I thought possessed a particularly high ceiling. I don't know his game that well, so I would need to see more to make a larger judgment on his game. However, my initial assessment would be that he is not as naturally talented as his younger brother, although he may be a little more athletic.

Orange County SC: Korede Osundina ('04) came off the bench in this game, and nearly had a nice assist on a left-footed cross. He was crossing a lot with his left foot, although I'm nearly sure he's right-footed. It made me question if I missed that he was left-footed, but it looked more like good defending that they were showing him onto his left because they knew that if he went onto his right that he'd run right by them. The crosses weren't that effective until he hit a good one, and his teammate nearly headed the cross in. Osundina is very athletic though. I don't know that his movement and runs are as good or that he's as naturally talented, but he's similar to a less talented version of Weah IMO.

Loudoun United: Tyler Freeman ('03) came off the bench, and was excellent. He was immediately running the game as soon as he came in. Matai Akinmboni ('06) was subbed on late for his debut. He was playing LB. He belonged in his limited stint on the field. He's normally a left-footed CB, but he's athletic enough that he can play LB for 10 minutes against less than dynamic attackers.

Colorado Springs: First game I've seen of Isaiah Foster ('03), and I was impressed. He looks like he's going to be a capable LB that should advance to higher levels. He reminds me of Jacob Greene. No real standout tool, but does everything well enough, which for a LB is very valuable because there are a lack of capable LB's. He's not going to provide many highlight reel plays, but he's reliable. What is interesting is that he's in the same age group and from the same area of the country as Greene. It's conceivable that DC United never brought him into their academy because they didn't want two of almost the exact same style of player at the same position.

 

Stadium update for USL-1 South Georgia:

https://www.wsav.com/news/local-new...ues-for-statesboros-professional-soccer-team/

 

Almost forgot about him. An '01:

Will the 𝙏𝙃𝙍𝙄𝙇𝙇! 💥 #WeAreCLT @willvint pic.twitter.com/YQqkJG9r5b

— Charlotte Independence (@Independence) March 31, 2022

 

Damian Rodriguez feature:

https://www.dailycitizen.news/sport...cle_db9d18a6-a705-11ec-9b10-6f28ee395918.html

 

Erik Centeno made the USL-C TOTW. And so did Rod Lopez!

 

Las Vegas: Julian Gaines ('02) was a little quiet in this game. He was playing RWB, but he barely had any defensive work to do. He had a very attacking role, and wasn't involved as much as his talent level indicates he should've been. When he was involved he made some nice plays, but it wasn't often enough.

Colorado Springs: Isaiah Foster ('03) had another respectable performance at LB. His tools are not too great. I don't ever see him being any type of star, but he defends pretty well, he's an above-average athlete, and his offensive contributions are good enough.

Loudoun: Tyler Freeman ('03) came off the bench, and was excellent again. He really does not belong in USL, but he'll probably be in this league all season, so he should be among the better players in the league this season. Matai Akinmboni ('06) was subbed on late to play as a LB once again. he's not a LB. He's a left-footed CB, but he did make a nice play to help throw off an attacker who had a good chance. He did just enough to bother the shot, and he was playing help defense. He wasn't the one who made the play that allowed the good attacking chance.

Louisville: Joshua Wynder ('05) had another good performance. For a 16 year old CB he's very consistent. I question his ultimate upside. He's not a top level talent, but I have little doubt that he will be a player with a floor of a good MLS level CB. His tools and performances already against pros make for a player with a extremely high floor. Carlos Moguel ('03) was subbed on at halftime, but he had very little involvement because the team was down to ten with none of the ball and defending the whole second half. He couldn't get near the ball defending either.

Atlanta II: Jonathan Villal ('05) had an average game. He had some attacking influence, but not as much as some other games we've seen earlier this season. Brendan Lambe ('04) hasn't impressed me very much early this season. I thought his game would translate better to the pro game. I thought his floor was high enough that he'd be at minimum an MLS rotation level player because despite being slightly undersized for a CM he didn't have any real weaknesses. What I question though is the level of his tools. They might be a little too low for that, so while I probably did not misread what his skillset consisted of, I think I misread the caliber of those skills. He can still pan out, but right now I'm not too impressed with his play.

He's not thread-eligible, but Justin Garces has been excellent in the two games he's gotten so far. He's so much better than their other GK, who has played three games. If they want to win, Garces needs to play every game. He should be starting for Atlanta next season. I think he'll quickly become one of the best GK's in MLS. Among the young American GK's in his early 20's in MLS, him and Freese have the most potential IMO. Marcinkowski also isn't bad, but I feel like his potential is a little lower.

Los Dos: Jalen Neal ('03) had an above-average performance. He didn't do much wrong defensively, and was pretty good with his distribution. My only complaint with his play is that he's not sharp to start this season. He can play so much better, but his form is slightly off in almost every part of the game right now between his passing accuracy, his defensive reads, his positioning, and aerial game. The level he's playing at right now is good, but he can play a lot better.