Boys ECNL Season Preview: Southeast 

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Boys ECNL season is the one of the first national club leagues to kick off the season. The 2022/2023 season kicked off last month in a few of the conferences in the Boys ECNL.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Boys ECNL has been an impressive development platform for players on different pathways. MLS Scouts were prevalent at the postseason and national events during the 2021/2022 season, and a number of players have moved from ECNL clubs to MLS academies. There have been some players who have moved abroad as well. On top of the scouting to the professional game, nearly every college coach in the country attended the playoff event as well.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first National Event of the season kicks off on September 16-18 in Georgia for the U12 through U14 age groups. The first National Event for the high school age groups is Nov. 18-20 in Phoenix, Arizona.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the Southeast Conference, NTH-Nasa stands apart. The Georgia club was named the Boys ECNL Club of the Year after the massive success in 2021/2022. CESA and United Futbol Academy also finished in the Top 25 in the club standings for last season.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2007/U16 Southeast Conference Preview&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>NTH-NASA dominated in this age group last season. They went through the regular season with a 19-0-4 record. The Georgia squad advanced to the quarterfinals, but came up just short with a 0-1 loss to FC Dallas in that game. NTH-NASA will be hoping to exceed last year's success with this group. ECNL Southeast Conference Player of the Year [player_tooltip player_id='10783' first='Julian' last='Bretous'] moved over to MLS Academy Atlanta United for the upcoming season, but NTH-NASA still has plenty of talent on the roster. Tolu Adeyemi and [player_tooltip player_id='10718' first='Jahday' last='Murray'], both ECNL All Conference First Team selections, are back for this season. NTH-Nasa started the season with wins over UFA and GSA during the opening weekend.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tennessee SC is also 2-0 to start the campaign. Camden Holiday and Cooper Koerlin were the two selections to the Southeast All-Conference teams. Holiday is a top attacking talent from Tennessee for the class of 2026. He will be one to watch this season in the ECNL.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The two Concorde Fire teams also started the season on a high note. Both teams recorded victories from that opening match. Austin Chavarria Flores (Platinum) and Nolan Staelens (Premier) were the All-Conference First Team selections from last season. Both players are on the Platinum team this season. Chavarria impressed during the ECNL playoffs and was part of the ECNL National Training Camp this summer. He is a 2025 recruit to watch this season.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>CESA is the other team that started the season with a win. The South Carolina squad returns two All-Conference selections in Nicolas Ortiz and Anthony Grudko. Both are 2025 recruits that will be entering the scouting radar during this season.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Southeast Conference in the 07 age group has a number of teams who could pull off the surprise this season, but it looks like NTH-NASA is the favorite and one of the top teams to win the National Championship as well.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Southeast Conference Award Winners for 2021/2022&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Player of the Year U15 - [player_tooltip player_id='10783' first='Julian' last='Bretous'], NTH-NASA</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All Conference First Team&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tolu Adeyemi, [player_tooltip player_id='10783' first='Julian' last='Bretous'], Jerome Byrd, Austin Chavarria-Flores, Camden Danosky, Anthony Grudko, Luis Hernandez, Camden Holiday, Owen Houtsos, Ralph Zachary Logan, Christofer Lopez, Lucas Mosquera, Mikel Muingeh, [player_tooltip player_id='10718' first='Jahday' last='Murray'], Reid Raintree, [player_tooltip player_id='10469' first='Alex' last='Ruiz'], Nolan Staelens&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Second Team&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='11070' first='Yabiel' last='Burgos'], Isaiah Jacob Cromedy, [player_tooltip player_id='10525' first='Brandon' last='Graham'], Cooper Koerlin, Ben Liptrott, Gio Malone, Servando Moreno Cortes, [player_tooltip player_id='10558' first='Cedric' last='Oglesby'], Nicolas Ortiz, [player_tooltip player_id='11057' first='Will' last='Taylor'], Alberth Valcarcel&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2006/U17 Southeast Conference Preview&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>CESA Triumph won the National Championship in this age group during the 2020/2021 campaign. They came up just short in a penalty kick shootout in the quarterfinal round against FC Dallas during the 2021/2022 playoffs. Wilfer Bustamante was named the Player of the Year in the conference. Patrick Kucaba was an All-Conference selection and took part in the National Training Camp. He is an exciting recruit from the 2024 class. He is a two-way midfielder who is capable of taking over the game at this level. He is a physical midfielder and not afraid to put in a shift defensively. There is a lot of potential for him to develop into an immediate contributor at the next level. Andrew Bowick is a top defender from the group. Sebastian Restrepo has also been a standout in the midfield for CESA.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>NTH NASA announced their intentions on the opening weekend with 15 goals scored from two games. The dynamic attack looks to be clicking early for NTH NASA. Matt Dean and [player_tooltip player_id='10999' first='Samuel' last='Jimenez'] were All-Conference selections last season. Dean is a quick forward who always seems to be in the right places. He is a 2024 recruit who was part of the ECNL National Training Center. [player_tooltip player_id='10995' first='Samer' last='Layous'], a 2025 recruit, has been on fire to start the season. He is a player the opposition needs to stop.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Alabama FC is another team off to a hot start this season with six points from the first two games. Finn Calloway was an All-Conference selection from last season. He is a top 2025 recruit from Alabama.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>FC Alliance landed three players on the All-Conference teams with Brady Hammer, Jack Raulston, and Luke Wilcoxen. The strong representation on the postseason awards list makes them a squad to watch this season. The Tennessee group had a setback against Alabama FC in the opening game, but bounced back with a win over local rival Tennessee SC.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Southeast Conference will be one to watch this season as some of the best 2024 and 2025 recruits in the country play in that division, which will have plenty of eyes from scouts on the sidelines during this campaign.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Southeast Conference Award Winners for 2021/2022&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Player of the Year U16 - Wilfer Bustamante Jr., CESA&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All Conference First Team&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Andrew Bowick, Wilfer Bustamante, Patrick Kucaba, [player_tooltip player_id='10864' first='Matthew' last='Dean'], [player_tooltip player_id='10999' first='Samuel' last='Jimenez'], Brady Hammer, Jack Raulston, [player_tooltip player_id='10883' first='Medin' last='Durakovic'], [player_tooltip player_id='10605' first='David' last='Blanton'], Tyler Aromin, [player_tooltip player_id='11049' first='Valentino' last='Isaza'], Bryson Vail, Graham Duncan, Benjamin Hayward, Finn Calloway, David Saldana, [player_tooltip player_id='11010' first='Sebastian' last='Garibay']&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Second Team&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jack Boring, Harold Carranza, [player_tooltip player_id='10799' first='Kaleb' last='Dawit'], Damon Harley Jr., [player_tooltip player_id='10737' first='Javen' last='Leung'], Juan Martinez-Bastidas III, [player_tooltip player_id='10919' first='Nicholas' last='Parham'], Sebastian Restrepo, [player_tooltip player_id='10838' first='Mac' last='Vargas'], Carlos Vazquez, Luke Wilcoxen</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->