USL Feature Article
Tuesday, August 31, 2009
TAMPA, FL –Chicago Fire defender Aaron Maund highlights a list of 10 players developed in United Soccer Leagues who were recently named to the US National Team’s FIFA U20 World Cup roster by head coach Thomas Rongen. The 2009 FIFA U20 World Cup begins Thursday, September 24 in Egypt.
Aaron Maund – Chicago Fire, Super-20 League
Maund was a key contributor in the Fire earning their third consecutive berth in the Super-20 Finals. Excelling defensively for the Fire during the 2009 North American Finals in Rockford, Illinois, he started all three group play matches for the Fire, who shut out their opponents for the full 270 minutes. In the tournament semifinals however, Red Bull New York’s John Tardy, the eventual Super-20 League MVP, notched both goals for the Red Bulls in a 2-1 victory.
“I had a pretty good experience at the Super-20 Finals,” said Maund. “The team jelled pretty quickly. We had three guys I knew from playing at Notre Dame so that made the transition easier (Brendan King, Greg Klazura and Josh Thiermann).”
“Our defensive system worked very well during the Super-20 League Finals,” said Maund. “We all played the same type of defensive system in college so it was not hard to replicate with the Fire. We had a lot of chemistry between us as well.”
Asked if the defensive systems used by the Fire carry over to his time with the US U20’s Maund replied, “The defensive systems we run with the US U20 National Team change a lot from game to game depending on our opponent.”
A dependable back, Maund started all 21 matches for the Fighting Irish in 2008 as a freshman. Including overtime, Maud played 1,936 minutes for Norte Dame last season, which tied senior Matt Besler for the team lead.
“There are a lot of players in the Super-20 League who play at the Division I level,” said Maund. “It is important to play against good athletes during the offseason just to stay in shape. But quality games and quality competition is hard to come by during the summer. The Super-20 League helped me a lot. You never want your level to drop off during the offseason.”
“Making the US U20 World Cup team is a dream come true for me,” added Maund. “A real dream come true would be to win the whole thing. Any time you get to represent your county you want to perform well. I think we will do the county proud because we have such a tight unit with no real superstar. We are very team oriented. It has been a tough, long process to get to this point, but I really think we will make people proud.”
Michael Stephens – Chicago Fire, Super-20 League
Like Maund, Stephens played a key role for the Fire’s Super-20 League side. The only difference is Stephens competed with the Fire in 2008, when the team won the Super-20 League Championship in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The club’s top attacking midfielder led the team with four assists during the regular season, earning the side a berth in the North American Finals and a 10-1-0 mark in the combative Midwest Division.
During the tournament, Stephens started two of the team’s three group play matches and assisted on the game-winning-goal in the semifinals, picking out teammate Chris Cutshaw for a 1-0 lead over D.C. United in just the fifth minute. That match ended 3-0 in favor of the Fire.
“Brock Tomlinson was absolutely huge for us in goal,” said Head Coach Larry Sunderland immediately following the team’s 2-1 win over the Toronto Lynx Juniors in the championship. “But Mike Stephens, our attacking center mid, was tremendous all tournament.”
Peri Marosevic – Chicago Fire, Premier Development League
Moving up the Fire’s development ladder, Marosevic logged 625 minutes in seven games for the Premier Development League’s Midwest Division Champions in 2008. In that time, he netted three goals and added one assist. A season earlier, Marosevic appeared in four matches for the Fire, picking up 351 minutes and a single goal. He was later selected by FC Dallas with the fifth overall pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft.
Josh Lambo – Chicago Magic, Super Y-League
Remaining in Chicago, Josh Lambo last played with the U15 Chicago Magic at the 2005 Super Y-League North American Finals. That team came into the finals with a record of 8-2-0 before going 1-1-1 in group play to end their season. Lambo and the Magic only allowed two goals in those three matches, falling 1-0 to the Richmond Strikers on the final day of competition. The Magic also tied U15 semifinalist, H.C. United, 1-1 on the opening day of the tournament. Between the two ties, Chicago downed the Calgary Wildfire Juniors, 2-0 on the second day of competition. Lambo was the eighth overall selection in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft, also taken by FC Dallas.
Danny Cruz – Des Moines Menace
Rounding out the Midwest contingent, Danny Cruz starred with the Des Moines Menace in 2008. Cruz was very productive for Des Moines, scoring three goals and two assists in just 479 minutes. A standout youth football and hockey player, Cruz did not begin playing soccer until his freshman year of high school. He adapted quickly to the sport and is now a member of the Houston Dynamo, who took Cruz in the third round of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft.
Dilly Duka – Parsippany SC, Super Y-League/Red Bull New York, Super-20 League
Duka first appeared on the USL scene with Parsippany SC’s U16 boys at the 2006 North American Finals. A 10-2-1 team coming into the tournament, Parsippany SC fell 2-1 to Diablo Valley Soccer Club on opening day before rebounding on day two via a 2-0 win over Abbotsford Fraser Valley. With one final chance to push through to the semifinals, Parsippany SC became the third victim of Orlando FC’s choking defense, falling 3-0 to one of the only clubs ever to not allowing a single goal during the group play stage and still not gain entry into the semifinals.
The next year, Duka was back with Parsippany SC’s U17 boys, who qualified to compete in the North American Finals by winning the Mid Atlantic Division with a record of 11-1-0. Duka however, did not return to the North American Finals with his team due to commitments with Rutgers University. Duka was one a handful of breakout starts in NCAA Division I that season, scoring two goals and adding four assists in 19 games played.
Duka joined Red Bull New York for the 2008 Super-20 League season. The team went 8-1-0 during the regular season. Red Bull had the best attack in the 19-team division. They scored nine more goals than D.C. United, the club with the second-best offense in the league. During the same Super-20 League North American Finals that the Chicago Fire’s Stevens made a name for himself, Duka played in two of three group play matches for Red Bull, adding two assists as a substitute in the team’s 4-2 win over H.C. United. Red Bull however, could not rebound from an opening day loss to the Toronto Lynx and the side narrowly missed out on the tournament’s semifinal stage.
Returning to Rutgers for his sophomore campaign, Duka did not disappoint. He netted a goal per game through 17 matches in 2008. Committed to the US U20 National Team since his initial call up early in 2009, Duka’s time with Red Bull’s Super-20 League side was extremely limited.
“Dilly has been away most of the season with the U20 National Team,” said Red Bull Super-20 League Head Coach Rob Elliott in July.
Duka had a breakout game with the US U20 team on Friday, March 6, 2009. In his first international appearance, Duka played a ball into the area that led to a Peri Marosevic goal in just the 6th minute of the US’s 3-0 win over Jamaica in the final round of the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship at Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet, Tobago. Duka later scored to make it 2-0 in the 79th minute off an assist from Danny Cruz.
Gale Agbossoumonde – Miami FC, USL First Division
In that same 3-0 win over Jamaica, Gale Agbossoumonde picked up an assist on the third goal, scored in the 84th minute by Billy Schuler.
USL First Division side, Miami FC signed the talented, 17-year old defender on Thursday, August 6. Since then, Agbossoumonde has totaled 224 minutes in four USL-1 matches. Those numbers include this past weekend’s 1-0 loss to the Austin Aztex in which Agbossoumonde played the full 90 minutes.
"We are very excited to add another quality young player to our US player development initiative,” said Fernando Clavijo, Traffic Sport’ Director of Soccer. “Gale is an extremely talented player with a lot of upside. Our goal at Traffic Sports is to offer him all the conditions to help in his development as a professional soccer player and person. He is a very well-mannered young man and we are absolutely thrilled with his decision to sign with us.”
Sheanon Williams – Carolina Dynamo, Premier Development League
Williams was named to the Premier Development League Team of the Week on Wednesday, June 24, 2009, following his one goal, two assist week for the Carolina Dynamo. Later in the season, Williams was recognized as one of the top three U19 players in the league and was named a finalist for the award along with Christian Ibeagha of the Cary Clarets and Max Toulette of the Fort Wayne Fever. The award was eventually won by Ibeagha, who logged over 1,000 minutes on the back line for Cary. Williams also finished the season with over 1,000 minutes played for the Dynamo. During that time he tallied six goals and added four assists.
Sean Johnson – Atlanta Blackhawks, Premier Development League
Johnson made six appearances with the first-year Blackhawks this season, culminating in a record of 0-4-2. The goalkeeper had a goals against average of 2.00 with 35 saves this season. As a sophomore with the University of Central Florida in 2008, Johnson finished first in the league in saves and saves per game (5.68) as well as third in save percentage (.812). He helped lower the team’s goals against average from 2.22 in 2007 to 1.29 last season.
Brian Ownby – Fredericksburg Gunners, Premier Development League
Ownby played in two matches for the Fredericksburg Gunners in 2009. The first was a 2-1 loss to the West Virginia Chaos on Saturday, May 16. Ownby played the full 90 minutes and tallied his only goal of the season in the loss. He also appeared in a 5-0 loss to the Reading Rage on Saturday, May 31.
