U.S. U-17 Top Performers v. Dominican Republic

<p class="has-medium-font-size">The United States advanced to the quarterfinals after an overwhelming 7-0 win over Dominican Republic. Other than a few shaky moments building out from the backline, the United States dominated from start to finish, creating miles of space in the final third. While it sounds crazy to say when the U.S. has outscored it's opponents 16-1, I still don't think we've seen close to what this team can be. I expect the quarterfinals to be the first time manager Gonzalo Segares reveals his first choice starting 11 after four games of large scale rotation. There were many quality performances in the midfield and attack and the defense had very little to do. </p>   <p class="has-medium-font-size">CF, Keyrol Figueroa, Liverpool Academy (Man of the match)</p>   <p>Figueroa was in dangerous, goal scoring positions for the entire 60+ minutes that he was in the game. He came away with two goals, but could have easily had four or five given the amount of opportunities that he had. He has a really good feel for space in the box and his explosiveness is a real problem for any defender at this age level. While the goals are great, I also liked what I saw in combination with other teammates, and I loved his first touch that setup his second goal. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/MarioReinoso17/status/1627078300731584515?s=20 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/USMNTvsHaters/status/1627087351276249089?s=20 </div></figure>   <p class="has-medium-font-size">DM, Pedro Soma, UE Cornella Academy </p>   <p>For me, Soma is the most important player on this squad. The United States looks like a different team when he is playing because of the control, tempo and precision he brings to his touches, dribbles and passes. He finds the ball really well and circulates possession so quickly. He barely put a foot wrong again in this game and I think it's a sure a bet to see him start again in the quarterfinals if he is fit. </p>   <p class="has-medium-font-size">AM, [player_tooltip player_id='17716' first='Christopher' last='Aquino'], Tacoma Defiance</p>   <p>Aquino set the tone for the United States by scoring the first two goals of the <a href="https://prepsoccer.com/2025/09/standout-players-in-east-juniata-vs-susquenita-clash/?itm_campaign=wp-parsely&itm_medium=smart-link&itm_term=b0479f42ca245b65859623789a0aea8a&itm_source=traffic-boost" data-smartlink="b0479f42ca245b65859623789a0aea8a" title="U.S. U-17 Top Performers v. Dominican Republic">match</a>. If you ask me, those goals were due from the last game he played where he had numerous well struck balls on target, but did not find the back of the net. Today, he changed that and the first goal was really nice. He hit the ball clean and fooled the keeper by going near post. From that angle, the keeper is expecting the ball to be struck far post. Whether Aquino meant to do that or not, the end result was fantastic. His second goal came after earning a penalty on a nice cut in on his left foot. He then took the penalty and calmly slotted it into the left side of the goal. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/Concacaf/status/1627089099613167619?s=20 </div></figure>

The United States advanced to the quarterfinals after an overwhelming 7-0 win over Dominican Republic. Other than a few shaky moments building out from the backline, the United States dominated from start to finish, creating miles of space in the final third. While it sounds crazy to say when the U.S. has outscored it's opponents 16-1, I still don't think we've seen close to what this team can be. I expect the quarterfinals to be the first time manager Gonzalo Segares reveals his first choice starting 11 after four games of large scale rotation. There were many quality performances in the midfield and attack and the defense had very little to do.