Five Texas Goalkeepers to Know at MLS Next Fest

<p>The MLS Next League is set to host its first national event of the 2025-2026 season in the next few days, as the MLS Next Fest tournament will go from December 4-15 in Mesa, Arizona.</p>   <p>Having the Scottsdale Sports Complex, Bell 94 Sports Complex and Reata Sports Complex as the venues, 1,474 teams representing over 250 different clubs will compete in more than 2,400 matches over the course of 12 days.</p>   <p>Many MLS Next teams from Texas that compete in the league's Homegrown Division will make the trip to Arizona, with [program_tooltip program_id='321473' first='AC' last='River'], [program_tooltip program_id='283612' first='Austin' last='FC'], [program_tooltip program_id='283624' first='Capital' last='City SC'], [program_tooltip program_id='283639' first='Dallas' last='Hornets'], [program_tooltip program_id='283648' first='FC' last='Dallas'], [program_tooltip program_id='283654' first='Global' last='Football Innovation Academy'] (GFI), [program_tooltip program_id='283657' first='Houston' last='Dynamo'], [program_tooltip program_id='283658' first='Houston' last='Rangers'] and IDEA Toros combining to have 32 teams in action in the U14, U15, U16, U17 and U19 divisions of the event.</p>   <p>These squads feature some of the most talented and promising young players from the Lone Star State, and we'll take the days leading up to the event to introduce some of them. First, the goalkeepers:</p>    <p class="text-gray-700">Ledford is part of the [program_tooltip program_id='283658' first='Houston' last='Rangers'] team that will play City SC Southwest, Woodside Soccer Club Crush and Tampa Bay United in the U16 Homegrown Division. Combining solid athleticism, superior technique and remarkable intelligence between the posts, the goalkeeper is one of the top players in his team and is also among the very best in the state in the age group. Ledford is one of those goalkeepers who raise their team's confidence level with their strong and reliable play in goal. His shot-stopping is very clean and technical, and he rarely puts a foot wrong in whatever he does. Picked as one of the team's captains this season, he's also one of the Rangers' leaders on the field, communicating well with his teammates and keeping their defensive system organized throughout matches.</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/DQN0E0fjnTN/ </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">Rossetti will appear with the [program_tooltip program_id='283657' first='Houston' last='Dynamo'] in their U17 Homegrown Division matches against the Columbus Crew, CF Montreal and Sporting Kansas City in Arizona. Recognized as one of the most promising goalkeepers in Texas, he has been making solid progress in different areas of his game over the last year or so, developing into more of a difference-maker between the posts. Very long and explosive, Rossetti is very difficult to score against because of how much area he can cover by stretching his arms and intelligently using his legs. The goalkeeper also stands out for his ability to quickly get the ball to his teammates after making saves, finding them in the attacking half with accurate throws or long passes, and setting up dangerous transition plays.</p>    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2025/09/2J4A0111.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-321127" /></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">Roberts-Bardwell plays for the [program_tooltip program_id='283612' first='Austin' last='FC'] team that will be faced with Minnesota United FC, Chicago Fire and New York City FC in the U17 Homegrown Division. He joined the club halfway through the last season and almost immediately became the primary option in his age group. Roberts-Bardwell thrives with his great positioning and solid reflexes between the posts, standing out as an elite shot-stopper - he also does a good job of dominating the penalty box in crosses and corner kicks. The goalkeeper is competent and confident when asked to use his feet and can connect nice passes out of the back, even when under pressure.</p>      <p class="text-gray-700">Rios is the starting goalkeeper of the [program_tooltip program_id='283648' first='FC' last='Dallas'] team that's scheduled to play against San Jose Earthquakes, Portland Timbers and Chicago Fire while in Mesa. Very consistent and reliable with his play between the posts, Rios typically impresses with his ability to make big saves, combining an interesting ability to read opponents and superior reflexes. That combination also helped him earn a reputation as an elite shot-stopper in penalty kicks after coming up big for [program_tooltip program_id='283648' first='FC' last='Dallas'] in past tournaments. The goalkeeper is also very smooth on the ball and doesn't hesitate when he has to step outside the penalty box to make a pass.</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/reel/DIZZQ7wofxw/ </div></figure>    <p class="text-gray-700">Quiroga and his IDEA Toros team will have Metropolitan Oval, TSF Academy and New York SC as their opponents in the U19 Homegrown Division of MLS Next Fest. An extremely athletic goalkeeper, he relies on his explosiveness between the posts to make saves and often makes impressive ones, reaching the ball in very difficult spots. Quiroga uses his size extremely well to get to shots targeting the upper corners, but also does a great job of quickly getting to the ground. He's extremely vocal in goal and consistently instructs and encourages his teammates.</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=9ICPabpM3qY </div></figure>

The MLS Next League is set to host its first national event of the 2025-2026 season in the next few days, as the MLS Next Fest tournament will go from December 4-15 in Mesa, Arizona.