Cleveland 2021 Preseason All-Metro Boys

In many metro areas, soccer talent is pretty well dispersed. But when it comes to Cleveland, the talent is concentrated around 1911 W. 30th Street in Cleveland -- the location of powerhouse St. Ignatius. The Wildcats are coming off a 21-0 season and have loaded senior and junior classes. Only one of the team’s returnees earned all-state honors last year due to the state’s policy of not honoring more than two players from any school. <span style="font-size: 1rem;">Here’s a glance at the players to watch this fall:</span> <strong>FORWARDS:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="14738" first="Zsombor" last="Onodi"] of St. Ignatius is only a junior, but perhaps the most intriguing forward on the list. He is expected to miss some time early in the season as he has trials with Feyenoord and Club Brugge in Holland. He scored 13 goals and had six assists last season. With talent like that, it’s easy to understand why St. Ignatius’ team is held in high regard nationally. ... Upfront with Onodi at St. Ignatius will be Joseph Rimac, who has an offer from Akron. Rimac had five goals and five assists as a junior. ... [player_tooltip player_id="14689" first="Ryan" last="Sanborn"] of North Olmstead was a Division I second-team all-state selection last year. <strong>MIDFIELDERS: </strong>[player_tooltip player_id="14645" first="Luciano" last="Pechota"] of St. Ignatius is the reigning Mr. Soccer for Ohio, which rarely goes to an underclass player. Pechota is expected to commit soon to a major NCAA Division I program. He scored 14 goals and handed out 12 assists last season. ... [player_tooltip player_id="14646" first="Luka" last="Dedic"] of Eastlake North was a Division I second-team all-state selection last year. ... St. Ignatius junior [player_tooltip player_id="14666" first="Nolan" last="Spicer"] is a major college prospect who is receiving national interest. Spicer scored a team-best 17 goals and had 10 assists. ... [player_tooltip player_id="14503" first="Aiden" last="Ptacek"] of University School, like Spicer is only a junior, rounds out the preseason midfield. <strong>DEFENDERS:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="14558" first="Collin" last="Folds"] is more of a defensive midfielder as opposed to a defender, but slotting him at defender makes sense since he can slide back and sure up the backline when needed. Folds already has NCAA Division I offers and looks as if he will follow his brother into the NCAA Division I game. His brother plays for Indiana University. ... [player_tooltip player_id="14638" first="Logan" last="Brown"] at Avon and [player_tooltip player_id="14631" first="Justin" last="Shreffler"] of Westlake, a junior, complete the preseason defense. <strong>GOALKEEPER:</strong> St. Ignatius keeper [player_tooltip player_id="14674" first="Patrick" last="McLaughlin"], whose older brother plays for Notre Dame, is a national-level recruit as a junior. The 6-foot-2 keeper allowed only one goal last year while seeing action in 14 matches. He is considered the top keeper prospect in the Midwest, and he helped his club team to the US Youth Soccer national tournament this past summer. [table id=79 /]