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

Discussion in 'Youth National Teams' started by NoHammiesAltidore, Mar 11, 2022.

  1. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    258 minutes his first season. 0G, 0A. Doesn’t seem to be doing that well. Maybe he’ll do better next season.
     
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  2. Kombucha

    Kombucha Member+

    Jul 1, 2016
    Club:
    --other--
    Luna was basically dominating USL.

    The market USL --> MLS market might have changed a little bit, but nobody has put together an offensive season even close to Luna. Gallegos wasn't even in the same stratosphere.

    He basically had a good preseason game against Dallas.

     
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  3. Dough Boy

    Dough Boy Member

    Sep 27, 2014
     
  4. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    Games from last week.

    Phoenix: I watched this team. They played a lot of kids in one of their games. None of the players were good enough that I think they're worth mentioning IMO.

    New Mexico United: Cristian Nava ('03) had a goal and an assist against Phoenix. He also played in another game they played during the week. He's beginning to play every game, and may now be a starter. He's a real prospect IMO. I was more impressed during this week than I've been previously. I don't know that he's a great prospect or one with real USMNT potential. He's very small (5'3/5'4) without more than average speed or anything dynamic in his game, but he has a high soccer IQ. They use him sometimes as a winger, but I think he's more of a #10. The ball control is good, the soccer IQ is very good. Could he eventually move up to MLS in another year or two? I think so.

    Birmingham Legion: Matthew Corcoran ('06) got his debut. Only a minute or two off the bench. He had a nice passing sequence. Wasn't much time to have an impact. I think he could have a big impact already in USL, so hopefully we see him for longer stretches.

    Atlanta: I didn't watch this whole game, so I don't like to give an assessment on how players played when I didn't see all their minutes in a game. Noah Cobb ('05) supposedly had a good game. I think this guy is a player who will have a lengthy pro career. I don't particularly rate him as a player with any type of high upside. Everything he does is very average. Could he be a player who has a long MLS career? I wouldn't be surprised, but I have to say that I don't view his performances as too consistent either and he also lacks in upside. Jonantan Villal ('05) has struggled a lot recently. He scored a goal coming off the bench, but it was ruled offside. It was probably the right call. He put the ball in the net though without knowing it would be called back, so that could help his confidence.

    Orange County SC: Korede Osundina ('04) came off the bench, and made a difference with his speed. One of the fastest young players in the YNT system. He still hasn't shown much else at this level other than speed, although I think he has it in his game. We just haven't seen it that much yet. I think we'll see him have more effectiveness outside of his speed as the season goes on, and potentially into next season.

    Las Vegas: Antonio Leone ('04) had a very quiet match at RB, which for a CB playing out of position at RB isn't a bad thing. I continue to like what I see from Christopher Jaime ('03) more than their other two young American attackers.

    Loudoun: Kristian Fletcher ('05) was subbed in during the second half. While his team didn't have much of the ball, he didn't have much impact on the game.

    Louisville: Joshua Wynder ('05) did his job, except he was at fault for a goal. It exposed some of his biggest weaknesses. He was caught slightly out of position, got on the wrong side of an attacker, and then didn't have the quickness to recover. I don't think he's slow. I would even say his mobility is slightly above average for a 6'3/6'4 CB, but he doesn't have recovery speed over short distances. He's more fast than quick. His positioning is pretty average. It needs to improve because against better competition this will be a problem if he continues to put himself in positions where he needs to recover due to poor positioning and can't. Thats not to say he was terrible or this is a big problem, but he's a good player and one that will move up to higher levels. I question his upside a little on how good he can become, and this is one area that will go a long way to determining his upside.

    Los Dos: Jalen Neal ('03) had a pretty average game. He wasn't bad. His team gave up two goals, and neither were his fault. He also didn't have many really bad plays. He just wasn't sharp. It was similar to his first few games of the season. He had a few too many small errors, and it was in all parts of the game (his passing, how quick he's reading plays, his clearances). If this is a bad performance for Neal, his floor is very high, but he wasn't anywhere near as good as he normally plays.
     
  5. ielag

    ielag Member+

    Jul 20, 2010
  6. Gorky

    Gorky Member+

    Jul 28, 2006
    NYC
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Is this the replacement for Diego Luna?
     
  7. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    I think he plays a little different. I saw him play once previously for El Paso, and he looked like a worse version of Alex Mendez.
     
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  8. Pl@ymaker

    Pl@ymaker Member+

    Feb 8, 2010
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Jose Villarreal?
     
  9. Brotheryoungbuck

    Jan 24, 2015
    parts unknown
    El Paso also started an 03 named Venancio Calderon who, according to his Twitter, played high school soccer this year. Pretty crazy.
     
  10. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    I will need to watch more, but I think he’s more of a central midfielder than attacking player. Luna (and Villarreal) are both attackers.
     
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  11. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    #111 ussoccer97531, Jun 9, 2022
    Last edited: Jun 9, 2022
    Games from last week.

    El Paso: Diego Abarca ('05) scored a nice goal. Aside from that, he didn't add much, but he's good enough to play at this level. I don't think their other prospects that they used seem to be good enough, but it's possible I just need to see more of those players. So far though from what I've seen, the other ones aren't real prospects IMO, while Abarca is a fringe level prospect.

    NYRB II: Caden Clark ('03) scored a goal, but had very little involvement. It was a lot like the typical Clark game. His overall impact seems underwhelming, but he always seems to get on the scoresheet in some capacity with goals and assists. Can't complain about that. He did only play one half, so that was part of his lack of involvement. Sam Williams ('05) also scored a goal. It was a nice combination sequence, although the actual shot to score was deflected. I don't see him as more than a versatile guy that can give you good enough performances at a few positions, but he's not a bad prospect.

    Daniel Edelman ('03) was the best of the young Americans. He wasn't great and had some weaker moments, but he had an above-average performance. He saved a goal with a nice effort play to make a sliding tackle after the CB's were caught out of position. He also had some nice passes. He's an underrated passer, even if I wouldn't say he's a natural distributor in midfield. He plays some very nice passes. I mentioned this on twitter, but this kid plays with such an innate toughness. He's the type of player any team will take.

    Atlanta II: Andy Sullins ('04) scored a nice goal, and played pretty well in the second game of the week. They didn't have that much possession, but he certainly looked like he belonged. He was far from the reason they once again were destroyed. He's a CF with good size, mobility, and combination of tools. I think he's an underrated player. Wouldn't be out of place in a US U-19 or U-20 camp IMO. Jonantan Villal ('05) was also good in the game against Memphis. It was only a brief appearance off the bench, but this was one of his good performances after struggling the last month or two.

    Mathieu Brick ('05) wasn't bad at LB. He had some moments where he got caught far out of position, which hurt the defense, but it's going to happen with young players. He also made a number of nice defensive plays, and he's a slightly above average passer from LB. I don't know that he has much of an offensive contribution from LB, besides the passing, but I think with time he could be about average defensively at LB, slightly below-average athletically, and then the passing gives him something going forward, although he's not an offensive LB. The bar is low at LB, so I'd say he has a chance to be an MLS level player.

    Efrain Morales ('04) continued his usual type of very inconsistent performance. He can't string together good performances. He struggles to string together two good plays in a row. Saying that, he is so talented. I say that every time I mention him, but the more I watch him play I think he actually might be the most naturally talented '04 field player. The flashes he shows are incredible. If this guy performed well, he'd be on the USMNT by now. Since he doesn't perform well, he can't even make the U-20 NT. I am not going to give up that this guy will turn into a really good player, but he's nowhere close to it.

    Los Dos: Felipe Cobian ('04) is usually able to hold his own. His positioning is what gets him into trouble when he makes bad plays, but it's getting better. I don't know that he does anything too good, but aside from the occasional bad performance that is down mostly to a young defender still learning the pro game, he does a pretty good job. He's a little similar to Brick for Atlanta, but a little smaller and a year older.

    Jalen Neal ('03) was excellent. Barely put a foot wrong. If he wasn't the best player on the pitch, he wasn't far off. Hopefully he'll start to get more of a platform to showcase his talents during U-20 WCQ. He should be a leader on that team, and probably the best player on that team, so I'm interested to see how he does in U-20 WCQ, and if he can have a dominant tournament there.
     
  12. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    Games from last week. Probably going to end up as the best week of the season (and there weren't that many games). Players were that good.

    Birmingham: Matthew Corcoran ('06) had his longest appearance of the season. Played nearly 15 minutes. Looked comfortable. Made a few nice defensive plays. I don't get the argument though that he lacks athleticism. I've never thought that. Against pros, you can see he moves at an average level.

    Loudoun: Abdellatif Aboukoura ('04) had a nice goal in the first game of the week chipping it over the keeper who was off his line. He had some other nice displays of skill. Great ball control, pretty quick. He may overcomplicate plays a little too much, but I think he's getting better with his end product and is a good player. Jace Clark ('05) played 45 minutes at CB during the first game of the week. Looked good. Made a number of nice defensive plays. His technique is still a problem, but he's extremely mobile, looks to have grown to about 6'2, and reads the game well defensively. He's one of the better '05 CB's. Gavin Turner ('07) got his debut in the first game of the week and also got into the game the second game of the week. He didn't play much in either game, but had a very nice flick that nearly led to a goal.

    NYRB II: This is the best game I've seen of Curtis Ofori ('05). He was pretty good defensively. Much more attentive than usual. Made some nice last ditch plays. Also, he was proactive, and wasn't being caught ball-watching or a step behind the play. If he can defend like this consistently, he'll be a much better prospect. Sam Williams ('05) probably also played the best game I've seen from him. He nearly had a nice assist on a long ball over the top, showed some other nice passes, and made numerous nice defensive plays. I think he's starting to improve, and I'm seeing a little that he's better than I thought. Let's see if he continues to improve. I wasn't that impressed by Edelman initially either. Illia Tyrkus ('05) had a good performance off the bench. He had some nice attacking sequences.

    Atlanta II: Efrain Morales ('04) had his best game of the season. He had a pretty boring games, by his normal standards, which is good. If he can have boring performances, he'll be really good because he has elite level tools and can make plays other cannot. He had one or two loose defensive sequences that you cannot have, but it really wasn't anything too bad. A very encouraging performance from him. Nigel Prince ('04) got his first start of the season, and was also good. His defending was very good, as expected. Just an impossible player to get around because of how athletic he is. Also, his passing didn't look bad. You'd have no idea he was a player who has struggled in the past with passing, if you watched this game and didn't know much about him. He's still not a natural with the ball at his feet, but he's improving. Hopefully he starts getting more game time.

    Andy Sullins ('04) also had a good game. He added some nice sequences to the attack with skill, passing, movement, and mobility. He drew a penalty that led to the only goal of the game with a very nice display of skill. He's been good so far this season in his USL appearances. Jonantan Villal ('05) again didn't play that many minutes, but he was showing great moments of skill and looks to be back in form at this level.
     
  13. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Jun 9, 1999
    Was not familiar with all the dollar amounts he is reporting:

     
  14. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Jun 9, 1999
  15. xbhaskarx

    xbhaskarx Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Feb 13, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Always good to see lower division kids getting some media attention

     
  16. ckajMonet

    ckajMonet Member

    Spurs
    United States
    Jun 8, 2017
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  17. ielag

    ielag Member+

    Jul 20, 2010
    Winoman, ckajMonet and ussoccer97531 repped this.
  18. Luksarus

    Luksarus Member

    United States
    Jul 27, 2018
  19. Agent_Orange

    Agent_Orange Member+

    FC Dallas
    United States
    Nov 17, 2020
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  20. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
     
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  21. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Jun 9, 1999
    When does a lower-division U.S. pro-to-Mexico transfer market crop up? Seems like another domino that you might think would fall eventually.
     
  22. Agent_Orange

    Agent_Orange Member+

    FC Dallas
    United States
    Nov 17, 2020
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    NTXSC sold David Rodriguez to Atletico San Luis last year (the Rodriguez bros are from San Luis Potosí originally). If you’re not making star money, though, it’s not necessarily a better life. Some of the US guys that went down there (Beasley, Herc Gomez, etc) have shared some pretty wild experiences.
     
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  23. Dave Marino-Nachison

    Jun 9, 1999
    Sure, though life abroad is always gonna be a trip for most Americans, I would imagine. Anyway, I would imagine that this is something that will take some time to develop -- I guess I'm just a bit surprised there's been so little given everything else that's going on in the marketplace. Maybe someday.
     
  24. xbhaskarx

    xbhaskarx Member+

    San Jose Earthquakes
    United States
    Feb 13, 2010
    NorCal
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    2007
     
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  25. ckajMonet

    ckajMonet Member

    Spurs
    United States
    Jun 8, 2017
    ussoccer97531 repped this.

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