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Aaron Nielsen ,

September 28, 2017 Email

Aaron Nielsen



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In past years I have covered CIS soccer, now USports, and have mentioned that in terms of quality it is probably the most overlooked brand of soccer in the country. MLS have yet to invite a Canadian university or college player to the combine or the draft, which are designed to help recruit the equivalent players south of the border. Even clubs at lower levels, including Ottawa and Edmonton, for the most part have ignored this pipeline of players. This has changed a bit recently with both Michael Cox and Ryan Telfer going from York University to Orlando City B and Toronto FC II respectively, while Shamit Shome played a year at Alberta before being resigned by Edmonton and then drafted by the Montreal Impact in the last MLS draft. Although this recognition has been based more on the individual performances playing in other leagues, such as League1 Ontario, whose main responsibility is to develop players with hopes they become Pro. USports will always be education first, and soccer is way behind. Outside of allowing players to play 10-15 games during August to November it's objective is more recreational competition and not to develop pro players. Despite this environment, decent soccer programs have been developed across the country, which again shows the quality of players nationwide and how there are both good coaches and players who have no other opportunity in this country, which makes USports the best option. With the introduction of a Canadian Premier League, future USports soccer players would be playing pro soccer before electing to go to post secondary education. While USports would also develop itself as a resource for the Canadian Premier League like NCAA is in the states for MLS, NASL, and USL. That being said, without a CPL currently, like League1 Ontario, PLSQ and PDL, there are a number of quality players playing in USports Men's Soccer this fall who I feel would be prospects for the CPL, with many of the top players playing in these other leagues as well. The most iconic program of the past decade is Carmine Isacco's York University, who each year bring in established talent and 2017 is no different with Dylan Carreiro and Quillan Roberts joining players such as Cristian Cavallini and many other current League1 Ontario players. Meanwhile, the same could be said with the UBC connection with the Vancouver Whitecaps, University of Alberta with FC Edmonton and University of Calgary and Calgary's PDL side. So in judging the top prospects, there would be some repeating from the other lists I wrote about, including Carreiro and Roberts. So here, in my view, are top 10 players not mentioned in my previous and currently playing and attending a USports Schools. Like the other list, this one could ohaveeasily been a list of 50 players, so some quality players missed my list and I would like to give an honorable mention to Justin Donaldson, a 23 year old Kamloops native, along with Thompson River and did the same on my PDL list while playing with the Victoria Highlanders, although he as shown an ability to create offense for both clubs and also deserves a CPL look. 10. Tyler Forsey - Memorial



One of the great advantages of USports, opposed to other leagues, is it covers the whole country and Forsey might be the best player in his native Newfoundland, as well as the Atlantic University Association. An attacker, Forsey uses both his speed and agility on the ball to create multiple opportunities for himself and his teammates. He has taken already over 100 shots in three years in the AUA, including nine in his first game this season. Forsey has always played beyond the ability of his opposition and it would be interesting seeing him up against comparable talent week in and week out. 9. Tyler Redl - Saskatchewan

Like Forsey, Redl represents another part of the country that is overlooked and has very few opportunities. However, the Saskatoon native not only had an impact in Canada West he is also the top goalscorer in the highest level of club soccer in Saskatchewan, scoring over two goals a game in that senior men's league. Also like Forsey, Redl capitalizes on both his ability to get by opponents and has a natural awareness of the game. On top of this, he had some opportunities that Forsey hasn't, including being apart of the Vancouver Whitecaps development system, which suggests he reads the game well and can play deeper in a more midfield role. 8. Marcus Lees - UNB



Another player who plays out east, although Marcus is an Ontario native who played with Durham in League1 Ontario and has gone as far as Kitsap in Washington state to prove himself as a quality player. He impressed me with the University of New Brunswick during the 2015 CIS Championship as the left winger/back and provided one of the only threats against a star studded York University side. A Justin Morrow style of player, Lees uses his great speed to run the wing helping to set up the offense and has enough pace and defensive awareness to prevent his opponent from doing the same. 7. Jeevin Kang - UBC Okanagan

Jeevin is a former Vancouver Whitecaps Academy player and was called into the Canadian National Team U18 assessment camp. He also played for the Whitecaps USSDA program. Kang can play a holding distribution role in the midfield or as a full-back in defense. Kang's midfield partner at Okanagan has been fellow Whitecap Academy player Nikhil Reddy and the combination of the two has helped maintain possession against much more athletic and physical teams. I would label him a new age Canadian player, who understands the game very well after playing hundreds of competitive games against the top players at his age level. 6. Valentin Lamoulie - UQAM



A native of France, Lamoulie had a successful youth career in his home country, including France National Team youth considerations. Valentin led UQAM to the national championship game last year against much more highly rated opposition, with him being the key reason his school advanced each game. He was named 1st Team All-Canadian of the year Goalkeeper after winning USports rookie of the year in 2015. Lamoulie still has three years left of school but also expressed interest in playing professionally in Canada if the possibility was presented. 5. Jace Kotsopoulos - Guelph



When you talk OUA West soccer you most likely talk about York University or McMaster, but OUA West might also be the strongest conference in the country and part this success is Guelph. Kotsopoulos is a Burlington native and since Burlington doesn't have a League1 Ontario team he has been mostly under the radar unless you follow CIS Soccer. He has been the best goalscorer in CIS the past three years with 35 goals in 36 games, which are numbers better then Michael Cox’s record at York. The 5'9 attacking midfielder/forward had equal success in both high school and in youth soccer and at just 20 is one to watch going forward. 4. Noah Cunningham - Alberta



Like many of University of Alberta top players, Noah has been part of the FC Edmonton system, even being called in as a potential first team player this season. Although the 6'2 defender also has gone beyond the Eddies system to improve and proved he has the capabilities to be a professional player. This summer he played 15 games with the Calgary Foothills in PDL and continues to be the defensive leader for the Golden Bears. Cunningham has many positive comparisons with fellow former FC Edmonton player Amer Didic, who is currently on Sporting KC in MLS. 3. Robert Boskovic - Ryerson



Speaking of players connected to pro teams, Ryerson's Robert Boskovic is another one, including playing with both TFC III and TFC II this season. The 6'3 central defender has played 25 career games with Toronto FC II and is still only 19 years old. He is one of the TFC Academy players who I've liked partly because he plays his core position well, but also has some good footballing skills including 50 touches a game. Although it doesn't seem TFC sees it the same way, which is one of the reasons Boskovic has also played a full year with Ryerson, including USports Rookie of the Year last season. 2. Bori Falaye - Calgary



Like on my other lists, I rank potential upside as much as I rank what a player is capable of doing now. Be it Tabla at an MLS level, Akinola in USL, Ewart in League1 Ontario, and Fathazada in PDL and even when CPL starts, soccer is about developing stars not just professionals. In USports that player is University of Calgary's Bori Falaye. Already possessing the athletic upside, this hasn't been unnoticed with call-ups by Canada National Youth Development Team and even trials with clubs like Borussia Dortmund. Falaye had a strong season with the Dinos in both scoring and setting up goals and if I were a Canadian pro team I would try to attain his rights as soon as possible. 1. Jonathon Amoo - Guelph



Skill-wise Amoo is at Falaye’s level, although he is at a different point in his career. Amoo was seen as a player with great talent playing with TFC Academy and Sigma before signing with one of the top NCAA Division 1 schools Louisville. Amoo played five games with Louisville in 2015 and made an impact in a game against Memphis. Amoo returned to Canada and after a successful League1 Ontario season with North Mississauga, he is now attending Guelph. Guelph already upset York early this year and looks to upset the traditional powers in USports this year, which I feel could happen with Amoo being the difference maker.

Aaron Neilsen is a co-founder of Prospect XI (Prospect Eleven), a scouting network and online magazine dedicated to tracking/highlighting young players that refer to as "prospects" as well as their development pathways both within North America and worldwide. Follow PXI via www.prospectxi.com or on twitter @ProspectXI.