USYS Boys U15 National League PRO AZ Preview
The U.S. Youth Soccer National League Boys teams head to Arizona this weekend for an event at the Legacy Sports Complex in Mesa. Some of the top teams from the U15 through U19 age groups will be in attendance from…
Access all of Prep Soccer
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingThe U.S. Youth Soccer National League Boys teams head to Arizona this weekend for an event at the Legacy Sports Complex in Mesa. Some of the top teams from the U15 through U19 age groups will be in attendance from the National League Player Recruitment Opportunity (P.R.O) event from March 12-14. There is also a Showcase event in those same age groups from March 11-13.
PrepSoccer will be in attendance for the event. Check back throughout the weekend and next week for extensive coverage from the US Youth Soccer National League PRO and Showcase Arizona. Check out our preview of the U16 age group and the U17 age group.
The event is likely to draw scouts from many levels of college soccer as well as professional and national team scouts with some of the top talent on display. The 07/U15 age group should be fiercely competitive as teams battle for placement heading into the final months of the club season.
We chatted with a few coaches from the best U.S. Youth Soccer clubs in attendance to preview the action and what to watch from Mesa, Arizona this weekend.
United PDX 07B Premier Black sits in the top spot in Group D. The Oregon squad has a commanding plus 18 goal differential through the first four games of the season. Head coach Brandon McNeil pointed to experience for the reason for the team’s success so far this season.
“Across a four-year turn, the group continues to stack experiences across state, regional and national level events across US Youth platforms,” McNeil told PrepSoccer in an email interview. “The commitment, drive and challenges in the daily environment builds the collective belief necessary to compete at the National League level.”
The coach highlighted previous games for the driving force for the team during the 2021/2022 club season.
“Being our second year in the National League platform has been amazing,” McNeil said. “Last year at Champions Gate (FL), we didn’t know what to expect. Came down to the final half of the last game with a chance to punch the ticket to the National Championship Series and we came up a bit short. Disappointment of that experience has now driven the collective group to push themselves to another level. Coming into this year’s experience the group knows better what to expect and feel they deserve more. That burning desire fuels the groups forward.”
That taste of being close but coming up short has the United squad firing on all cylinders so far in this campaign. The Oregon group is 4-0 with only three goals conceded this season.
“Defense wins championships and we have been fortunate enough to allow less than a goal a game,” McNeil said. “Our defensive unit, organization and determination is the foundation. The variety, creativity and belief in attack we have been fortunate to average over five goals a game so far.”
United PDX takes on Hibernian Scholes (NJ), Allegiance FC Red (TX-N), and Allegiance FC Blue (TX-N) during the three day event as the Oregon team hopes to finish top of Group D by the end of the weekend.
In Group E, Azzurri Storm 07 Boys Premier leads the way. The squad from Florida is 4-0 in the competition with 13 goals scored and only one conceded.
Coach Paul Williams cited the team’s growth individually and as a collective for the accomplishments so far this season.
“The key to the team’s success this season is teamwork and a greater level of maturity the boys have shown during games,” Williams told PrepSoccer. “The boys have all worked extremely hard on improving their technical and tactical knowledge of the game.”
The coach also sung the praises of the league for giving his squad and others at that level the chance to compete at a high level with attention from scouts.
“The benefits of playing in the National League is the opportunity for the team to play high level games against top out of State competition,” Williams said. “It also provides great exposure to college coaches from across the country.”
Attacking midfielder Alex Bulaitudor has been among the standouts for Azzurri Storm this season. Bulaitudor is silky smooth on the ball and can finish with either foot. He has also played as a forward. He has the pace to get behind the defense.
David Velez, Ty Collins, and Mateo Nadler have also been standouts for Azzurri Storm this season. Velez is a clever player from the midfielder who has the vision to split open the defense with his vertical passing. Azzurri is scheduled to take on SAC 2007B Pre-Academy (MD), FC Copa America 07B Black (NJ), and UIFC Laguna FC (CA-S) during the three days in Arizona. The opener against SAC should be one to watch as both teams are undefeated in National League play this season.