MLS Next Cup Playoffs: U17s Focus

<span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>FRISCO</strong>, Texas - The U17 age group for at MLS Next Cup Playoffs and Showcase had a number of standout performances throughout the week-long event at the Toyota Soccer Center. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">PrepSoccer has been on site throughout the event. Here are the standouts and scouting reports on some of the best from U17 games at the event.</span> <strong>Petar Janjic</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">, Sockers FC Chicago U17</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Position: Forward, No. 64</span> Petar Janjic impressed me with his abilities, great purpose and direction, and tenacity. His mobility, as well as his ability to be in the right place at the right moment, are extraordinary. He is of good size and has good hold-up ability. When he is needed, he is a good outlet for his defense for long balls. He possesses a sharp mind as well as agility. Petar is a superb ball player who isn't hesitant to go one-on-one with opponents or shoot for a goal. He is a 2023 recruit. <span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="33224" first="Caden" last="Grabfelder"]</strong>, FC Delco  U17</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Position: Mid/Forward, No. 48</span> Caden is a natural player who enjoys freedom and being occupied. He's the stereotypical box-to-box player. He is on the attack from the opening of the game. He has an excellent shot. He is an excellent passer of the ball, and he is swift both with and without the ball. He moved quickly and had defense on the move at all times. He is comfortable using both feet and is also quite excellent at dribbling. He has pretty good movement in between lines and made some great runs in-game against Columbus Crew especially.  He is a verbal commit to Penn State for the 2023 class. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="47350" first="Stanislav" last="Lapkes"],</strong> Columbus Crew U17 Position: Goalkeeper, No. 1 Stanislav's positioning, communication, and organization particularly impressed me. Throughout the games, his position was excellent. He has a good profile. His communication and organizational abilities are exceptional. He isn't scared to tell his teammates where they should be. He understands how to assess games quickly. He moves quickly across his box and appears undeterred by high balls, which he handles with ease. Stanislav is also fairly assured with the ball and has excellent distribution. He is the top-ranked goalkeeper from <a href="https://prepsoccer.com/ohio/rankings/boys/2024-rankings/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the state of Ohio in the class of 2024</a>. <strong>Alessandro Biello,</strong> CF Montreal U17 Position: Midfield, No. 38 Alessandro of CF Montreal is a highly comfortable player who can play with both feet. He is skilled at exploiting the weaknesses of his opponents on the field. He is not one to give up the ball easily. He was always looking for the ball, every opportunity he got against Empire United he took on his opponent to great advantage and also defended against his opponent fairly effectively. He can play any place in the group's middle, and he has every skill asked of a midfielder. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="13474" first="Brennan" last="McDermott"]</strong>, Empire United U17 Position: Midfield, No. 30 Brennan of Empire is a talented player who showed well at the MLS Next event. He excels at exploiting his opponents' flaws. He is not one to give up the ball easily. He was constantly looking for the ball, and he is strong in the tackle, so he can be effective both attacking and defending. His ability to link defense to offense against Montreal was very good. He can play anywhere in the middle of the field and was particularly successful in a two-man midfield against Montreal. He has excellent passing and ball-keeping skills. <strong>Fernando Espinoza</strong>, Solar SC U17 Position: Midfield, No. 3 Fernando is a talented player who operated in midfield. On the field, he is busy. He was always trying to be an outlet for defense. He is strong in the tackle. He was made to work hard against the Seattle side who were very good in the middle but dealt well with this. He can play central but looked to be effective anywhere on the pitch. He has excellent passing and ball control skills. What made him stand out to me was his non-stop go especially as his side was down, he kept playing and trying to influence the game positively. Honorable mentions in this group go to Luca Raso (u17 Sockers FC Chicago) , [player_tooltip player_id="11223" first="Mhone" last="Bogonko"] (u17 Chicago Sockers FC), [player_tooltip player_id="14692" first="Sagar" last="Patel"] (u17 Columbus Crew), Nicholas Donnelly (Empire United u17)