Looking at the FC Dallas Academy College Players in the NCAA Playoffs

The NCAA Division 1 Men’s Soccer playoffs begin tonight, and there are many FC Dallas Academy players that will be starring in the tournament.

As the club enters the offseason, many of these college players will try to impress the coaches to enter the consideration of a homegrown contract, and many players in the past, such as Brandon Servania and Reggie Cannon, played in college before coming into the MLS.

This is a preview of all the FC Dallas Academy players that fans might see in action.

SMU

With the Hunt connection to the university, it’s no surprise that there are many FC Dallas Academy players that fill the roster for coach Kevin Hudson. The most notable player is Eddie Munjoma, a right-back who has notched 11 goals and 8 assists in 18 matches so far this season. Munjoma is regarded as one of the best defenders in the NCAA this season and has been consistently very good for the Mustangs.

Brandon Terwege and Phillip Ponder both have started multiple games this season in the backline of SMU. The two center-backs have been starters in the 5 man backline that Hudson likes to use. Out of both of them, Terwege seems to be the player that will most likely sign with FC Dallas or NTSC, due to his connection with Luchi. The last player on the roster is Sevon Pendergrass, who will probably not see much of the field during the playoffs due to his lack of playing time during the regular season.

Campbell

Campbell is the only other team in the bracket that has 4 FC Dallas academy graduates. The small university from North Carolina is home to Jalen James, Adrien Morales, Matt Karasinski, and Dylan Sadler.

Out of the four of them, only Jalen James and Adrian Morales have started multiple games this season. Jalen James is a Redshirt Freshman that has begun to see a lot more time on the field in the second portion of the season. Adrian Morales started more matches in the beginning of the season but lost his starting spot to James. Both play a similar role in the midfield, and combined have 7 goals and 4 assists for the Camels.

Dylan Sadler has seen minutes, but mostly off the bench, so it will be interesting to see what kind of effect he can have on the team whenever he comes on late in matches. Matt Karasinski has only played 2 matches, and both were not starts, so it is unlikely that we will see the goalkeeper in action during the bracket.

Kentucky

Kentucky has two FC Dallas Academy Alumni on their roster, both of whom have played a significant role for the team in the season. The team star this season has been Daniel Evans, who was poised to replaced JJ Williams, who was drafted by Columbus Crew SC in last season’s Superdraft. Although his performances haven’t been as exceptional as Williams’, Evans is the leading scorer of the team, with 7 goals and 5 assists in 1200 minutes.

Cole Guindon played nearly every game last season, bust has seen his role be diminished in his second year with the Wildcats. Playing only 768 minutes, it will be interesting to see what role the left-back will serve in playoffs this season.

The Rest

Andres Quevedo has not played a single minute for Syracuse in his freshman year.

Alex Bautista has only played 6 matches for NC State this year and has not had a major role with the team for the entire regular season

Although Bryan Padilla played well during the first half of the season with last year’s champions, he, unfortunately, suffered an ACL tear for Maryland last month and will not be seen in the playoffs.

Aldo Quevedo has been a consistent starter for Yale, scoring 4 goals in 975 regular season minutes for the Bulldogs.

In his freshman year for Clemson, Judson Burns has only appeared in 5 matches as a substitute. His role with the squad will grow next year.

Kevin Kim has been a consistent player off the bench in his freshman year for Mercer. He has appeared 15 times this season, with 13 of them off the bench.

Although his role with Wake Forest has decreased from last year, Holland Rula still has a major role in the squad, playing 17 matches for the Demon Deacons.