MLS Next Cup Playoffs: Preview - FC Dallas U19

<p>After over nine months of action, the MLS Next season is about to come to an end soon as the MLS Next Cup Playoffs will take place in Nashville, Tennessee, from June 14-22, determining the league's 2025 champions.</p>   <p>The playoffs will feature 32 teams in the U15, U16, U17 and U19 age groups, reuniting MLS academies and other teams that compete in the league and rewarding those who got the best results during the season.</p>   <p>The state of Texas will be represented in all four age groups, with teams from [program_tooltip program_id='283612' first='Austin' last='FC'], [program_tooltip program_id='283648' first='FC' last='Dallas'], Global Football Innovation (GFI) Academy and the [program_tooltip program_id='283657' first='Houston' last='Dynamo'] making the trip to Tennessee to compete for the title.</p>   <p>In the days leading up to the tournament, we're previewing the Texas teams qualified for the MLS Next Cup playoffs:</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[program_tooltip program_id='283648' first='FC' last='Dallas'] U19</h2>   <p>Representing the academy of MLS club [program_tooltip program_id='283648' first='FC' last='Dallas'], the team had the second-best campaign in the MLS Next Central (South) Division in league play, earning 28 points, with eight wins, two losses and two ties. Dallas qualified during the MLS Next Flex event and will face New Jersey's Players Development Academy (PDA) in the Round of 32 in Nashville.</p>   <p>With Nicolas Arango Montoya and Blake Wheeler, [program_tooltip program_id='283648' first='FC' last='Dallas'] have a pair of strong options in goal. Michael Cortellessa Jr. and Aydin Pondeca occupy the outside back spots on the right, with [player_tooltip player_id='88470' first='Zachary' last='Molomo'] and [player_tooltip player_id='90431' first='Jonathan' last='Dozier'] appearing on the left. Ian Charles, Mikey Murphy, [player_tooltip player_id='16332' first='Jonah' last='Gibson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='279950' first='Liam' last='Vejrostek'] hold the fort in central defense for the team. The midfield has Landon Hickam, [player_tooltip player_id='62785' first='Isaiah' last='Kaakoush'], Isaac Romero and Carter Bronold in the more defensive roles, with [player_tooltip player_id='56088' first='Marlon' last='Luccin'] and Bryce Outman taking charge of the playmaking. [program_tooltip program_id='283648' first='FC' last='Dallas'] have great depth on the wings, with Jaidyn Contreras, Ian Witis-Hughes, [player_tooltip player_id='88535' first='Andre' last='Saucedo'] and Josmar Guandique appearing there while [player_tooltip player_id='15975' first='Christopher' last='Angelo Salazar'] and Nyle Waugh are the strikers.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Players</h2>    <p class="text-gray-700">An extremely athletic center back, Charles knows how to use his physical tools to defend the penalty box and is very difficult to beat because of how dominant he can be. He spent most of the season with North Texas SC in the MLS Next Pro League and has added a fair deal of maturity and experience at a higher level to his game, becoming even more of a force on the backline. Very strong in the air, Charles has a good presence in the attacking penalty box in set pieces and often scores goals with headers. Also capable of playing as a defensive midfielder, he's also very skilled on the ball, remaining calm in possession and distributing it efficiently out of the back with short and long passes.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.instagram.com/p/DIVIq6_MKBa/ </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">An extremely technical and intelligent outside back, Cortellessa is a stud on the right side of [program_tooltip program_id='283648' first='FC' last='Dallas']' backline. With a very solid all-around game, he's one of the pillars of the team, delivering high-level production both defensively and offensively. He's excellent at reading opponents when defending out wide and does a great job of taking up space from them to force them back. Cortellessa is also very skilled with the ball, being capable of supporting the team's offense in a variety of ways. An elite crosser, he's very dangerous every time he gets the ball to the end line, but he also has the vision and the skill to come inside and operate as an additional playmaker for his team.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jE5hVy-3Wc </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">A very technical and dynamic defensive midfielder, Kaakoush is another prospect in the team to have earned significant playing time with North Texas SC this season. He's excellent at shielding the backline, using his solid physical tools to win duels and his incredible ability to anticipate plays to get to the ball before opponents can control it. Also capable of playing in central defense, Kaakoush has the vision and the quality to execute long passes with tremendous accuracy, and he uses it to start quick transition plays with great efficiency. A constant presence in the US Youth National Team over the years, he was in a training camp with the U17 team back in March</p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2CxCRn18as </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">Part of the US U18 national team that triumphed at the UEFA Friendship Cup against Argentina, France and Australia in Switzerland earlier this week, Contreras is a dynamic attacking player who has a lot of resources in the final third. Capable of playing on both wings, he's very dangerous in wider spots thanks to his pace and his ability to make quick moves when going at defenders in 1v1 plays. Contreras, who also likes to combine with his teammates, giving them the ball and quickly moving to get it back, also thrives at bringing it inside from the wing and using his vision and passing skills to operate as a central playmaker. He also finishes very well with both feet and is very precise in set pieces, converting penalty kicks and close-range free kicks at a great rate.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVKVedx7COg </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">[program_tooltip program_id='283648' first='FC' last='Dallas']' No. 9 Salazar is the team's main source of goals, efficiently converting most of the chances he has to put the ball into the back of the net. A physical player, he's excellent at fighting for space and protecting the ball, both inside and outside the box, often working as the hub of his team's offense with his excellent holdup play. Salazar does a great job of consistently getting into good spots to finish chances, be it by peeling off defenders to space his team's offense or with his excellent movement inside the box to finish chances. He has solid ball control skills, but scores a fair amount of his goals with first-time finishes, be it with one of his feet or his head. </p>    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.instagram.com/p/DHupsWdNWGI/ </div></figure>

After over nine months of action, the MLS Next season is about to come to an end soon as the MLS Next Cup Playoffs will take place in Nashville, Tennessee, from June 14-22, determining the league's 2025 champions.