Roster Analysis: U15 BNT heads to Italy

Roster Analysis: U15 BNT heads to Italy
by J.R. Eskilson
April 18, 2014

The U.S. U15 Boys National Team is headed to Italy next week for an international tournament with games against Slovenia, China, and Mexico on the schedule. This is the first tournament for this age group, but not the first international test as the U15s were in UAE earlier this year and played a couple of national teams.

Head coach Hugo Perez called in 18 players for the trip with many of the familiar faces headlining the roster. However, Perez’s group is a bit short handed. Edwin Lara and Tyler Adams have been folded into the mix with the U17 Men’s National Team, which left them unavailable for this trip. Star attacker Nicholas Taitague is out with an injury, which takes a serious bite out of the creativity of this group.

In the absence of that trio, expect FC Golden State’s Marty Raygoza to take on a larger role. Raygoza has come on quickly and emerged as a player who can fit in well with Perez’s style of player. He has the talent and vision to orchestrate in the attack. Also, Hanif Wright of the Los Angeles Galaxy Academy could be in for a big trip. The younger brother of Haji Wright has a lot of the same attributes – quick, dangerous with the ball, always running at defenders. Wright and Raygoza should get plenty of run either off the bench or as Perez rotates the squad.

Read More: U15 BNT camp ends with a pair of wins | Standouts from the U15/U14 scrimmages

In the defense, Gabe Kash did really well in the previous camp and could be looking at a starting spot in the defense for the opener against Slovenia on April 25. The St. Louis Scott Gallagher player is intelligent and capable of locking down the right side of the defense. Jose Alfaro Jr. is the likely replacement for Lara at left back. Alfaro has been in the mix with this age group for some time and finally finds the spotlight in Lara’s shadow. The youngster who plays in Mexico will have the benefit of familiarity with the neighborly opponents in the second game.

The new faces for Perez have a big test with this international tournament and the loss of Taitague will definitely take some sting out of the U.S.’s chances. However, this group was not built on one player so the expectation from Perez will still be to play attractive soccer (and win).

Projected U.S. U15 Starting XI:

U.S. U15 Boys National Team, boys club soccer, Hugo Perez

Check out the full roster here.

Trending Videos
 
IMG Academy Top 150 Rankings
see full ranking:
Boys Girls