By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Apr 20, 2018) US Soccer Players - It’s not often that you see an American player make his top-flight professional debut at age 29. It’s even rarer for a player to arrive at that milestone via a path like Jimmy Maurer’s. A supplemental draft pick of the New York Red Bulls way back in 2011 after a solid NCAA career at South Carolina, the Georgia native didn’t get . . .
Will New England’s approach change youth soccer?
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Apr 13, 2018) US Soccer Players - The New England Revolution’s academy is not generally known as one of the pacesetters in MLS or US youth soccer. To date, the MLS team has signed four Homegrown Players in total. The Revs’ youth sides rarely keep pace results-wise with elite academy programs like FC Dallas, the LA Galaxy, and New York Red Bulls. However, this . . .
Zlatan, Concacaf Champions League, and cult of personality in American soccer
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Apr 6, 2018) US Soccer Players - Soccer in America long ago matured past the point of needing any sort of tipping point, “World Cup bump,” superstar arrival, or other external assistance to thrive and grow. Right? I’ve grown accustomed to arguing that point over the past several years. It just seemed like an obvious reality of the sport’s progression here. So . . .
The good and the bad of USMNT 1 – Paraguay 0
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Mar 29, 2018) US Soccer Players - The USMNT produced both a solid performance and a positive result against Paraguay in North Carolina on Tuesday. Though the night wasn’t perfect, that’s worth cheering, especially given the recent tendency for some observers to view everything around the program in a negative light. Here are a few of my observations of the good, . . .
Preview: USMNT vs Paraguay
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Mar 23, 2018) US Soccer Players - The USMNT still find themselves in an unusual holding pattern as they gather in North Carolina this week ahead of Tuesday’s friendly vs Paraguay (7pm ET- FS1) . Amid all the sound and fury that’s been raging across American soccer the past few months, however, a return to match action should be a welcome development for all . . .
21 years after leaving UCLA for MLS, Kevin Hartman set for diploma walk
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Mar 15, 2018) US Soccer Players - Leaving college early or bypassing it altogether to turn pro is today a commonplace decision for elite young soccer players in the United States. It was a bit more of a gamble when Kevin Hartman did it in early 1997, just a few months shy of completing his bachelor’s degree. The LA Galaxy drafted Hartman with the second-to-last . . .
Checking up on the USMNT January camp squad
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Mar 9, 2018) US Soccer Players - March is well underway, bringing with it the onset of the MLS season and the decisive stretch run of most European campaigns. While it may feel like January camp just ended a few weeks ago, it’s nearly time for interim USMNT coach Dave Sarachan – whose contract was recently extended further into 2018 as the search process for the . . .
Supporters groups in modern MLS
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Mar 2, 2018) US Soccer Players - DC United's 2018 MLS season is about building. One of the league’s founding clubs, United have influenced MLS mightily over the decades, winning a roomful of trophies and setting its first standard for “supporter culture.” While the suburban minivan demographic held sway in most MLS venues in the early years, DC’s passionate, . . .
Tommy Thompson wants to entertain
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Feb 23, 2018) US Soccer Players - History shows that being a “next big thing” in American soccer can quickly turn into a millstone around young players’ necks. So as he begins his fifth year as a professional, you could forgive Tommy Thompson for being tired of the tag. The youngest of former USMNT player and 1984 Olympian Gregg Thompson’s three soccer-playing . . .
MLS and young domestic players: Will anything change in 2018?
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Feb 16, 2018) US Soccer Players - A war is quietly raging inside Major League Soccer. It's one that could have an enormous effect on the USMNT in both the short and long terms. On one side stands a band of clubs and executives who remain cognizant of the league’s founding principle of featuring and improving homegrown talent for the benefit of US soccer as a . . .
