U.S. Youth Is Setting the Standard on the Global and Domestic Stage

In a week that has concluded many stories from all over the U.S. Youth landscape. We take a look at the growing impact of the U.S. Youth National team in foreign lands while back on home soil the prospects that were made to set the MLS NEXT Pro stage on fire are doing quite that, all while MLS NEXT is in full effect with week two giving us glimpses in the directions teams are heading.

September 16, 2024

The United States U-18 finished today's Niigata International Tournament with one draw, one loss, and one win. Coach Michael Nsien led the team with the goal of expanding his vision of the 2007 age group into future camps with the current U-20 youth national team and for the upcoming U-20 group.

The United States kicked off its stay in Japan with a draw against the local Niigata team. Leo Orejarena scored the only goal of the game for the United States. Although the result was a surprise, Niigata was a very competent opponent and the game was very close throughout the 90 minutes.

On Saturday, the United States faced Japan. The Stars and Stripes led early in the second half with a goal by Aiden Hezarkhani but Japan quickly equalized and managed to turn the score around within a few minutes. The United States tied the score with a goal by Drew Baiera but Japan again took the lead and scored two goals in the 66th and 68th minutes. Towards the end of the game, Justin Ellis scored the final one to finish the game 4-3 in a back-and-forth thriller.

Today the United States played its last game beating Peru U-17 (2008s) by a score of 2-0. In the 7th minute, Justin Ellis scored the first goal of the match after an excellent move inside the box and a finish with his left foot. In his first international experience, Justin Ellis confirmed why he is considered one of the best prospects born in 2007. The United States was dominant throughout the game and in the 51st minute of the second half after a rebound from Peru's goalkeeper, Colin Guske scored the second goal of the match.

The 2007 age group will thus end its participation in 2024 and next year after the World Cup they will begin their new cycle as a U-20 group.

A Week of Milestones and Debuts

This weekend has been a big one for many of the nation's top prospects. Starting with 2009-born midfielder Lukas Bruegmann, who in his second game as a professional scored his first goal in MLS NEXT Pro. Bruegmann was recently called up to the United States U-16 youth national team and his game has been on a steady rise in 2024. Thus, Bruegmann is the fourth player born in 2009 to score in MLS NEXT Pro as he joins a talented cast after Cavan Sullivan, Omar Hassan, and teammate Mattheo Dimareli.

This weekend saw the debut of Zidane Yañez and Enrique Martinez, both players born in 2008. Zidane Yañez, who signed a professional contract earlier this year, earned his first minutes as a professional after a successful season at the academy level and being a key part of Chile's youth teams.

Central defender Enrique Martinez made his debut for Ventura County in a loss to North Texas SC. Enrique Martinez was crowned MLS NEXT Cup champion with LA Galaxy U-17 was called up to the Mexico U-17 national team and recently played for the United States U-17 in the Jezec Cup.

Center forward Chase Adams scored his ninth goal in 16 games this season. Adams scored the game-tying goal in the game between FC Cincinnati 2 and Columbus Crew 2.

On the other hand, 2007-born forward Noah Santos scored an excellent goal with a long shot for Portland Timbers 2. Santos now has three goals and two assists so far this season. Another forward, Aidan Martinez, Minnesota United 2 attacking midfielder, added his first professional assist after having played sixteen games.

2006-born winger Mykhi Joyner scored again this weekend and fifteen goals in 23 games while Philadelphia Union II center forward Edward Davis scored in the game against Inter Miami and has a total of twelve goals in twenty-four games.

Epic Showdowns Blooming Fresh Faces

The standout player of the weekend was Apollo Marinch, the 2010-born player who scored a brace while playing for Columbus Crew U-18. The midfielder, who is only 14 years old, scored in the 24th and 32nd minutes in the win against Midwest United FC. His teammate Austin Su scored a hat-trick in that game to complete the 5-4 win.

LA Galaxy managed to beat Real Salt Lake in both the U-16 and U-18 age groups. For the U-16s attacking midfielder Juan Martinez scored the only goal of the game in the 90+1 minute while for the U-18s Dylan Cantafio scored for Real Salt Lake and Christian Coreas in the 22nd minute and Carson Sagely in the 45th minute gave LA Galaxy the win.

New York Red Bulls U-16 defeated Alexandria 7-0 with a hat-trick from Paul Sokoloff, a brace from Jacob Priestley and the remaining pair of goals by central defender Caleb Simmons and forward Matthew Jean Baptiste, born in 2010.

D.C United defeated FC DELCO U-18 4-0 with goals from Badr Laghjibi, Henrique Borges, Langston Fabiyi, and Alan Flores while FC DELCO defeated D.C United in the U-16 age group by 4-1 with goals from Erik Guzman-Romero, Garrett Rhodes, Read Goodwin and LaVante Griffiths for FC DELCO while forward born in 2010 Oscar Avilez scored the only goal for D.C United.