The state of Washington’s soccer community is a little bit prouder today after Seattle-born, local soccer-raised defender DeAndre Yedlin was subbed into his first match in the Barclay’s Premiership as a member of Tottenham Hotspur.

Jeremiah Oshan of SounderatHeart.com wrote:

Yedlin’s debut was not entirely without memorable moments. One of Yedlin’s first actions was going shoulder-to-shoulder with Christian Benteke, and although he was called for a foul he held his own with the Premier League veteran. His first notable action was slipping while defending Fabian Delph on an Aston Villa breakaway. Luckily, Michel Vorm was able to make the 85th minute save. In the 89th minute, Yedlin had his one semi-highlight, sending a good entry pass into the box. Although it was controlled by Roberto Soldado, Federico Fazio’s shot was ultimately blocked. Yedlin was credited with three passes on the day and one blocked pass.

Yedlin was born in Seattle on July 9, 1993. The 21-year-old played with Emerald City FC, Northwest Nationals, Crossfire Premier, and the Seattle Sounders Academy during his youth career.

DeAndre rose quickly to stardom after he was recruited by the Akron Zips (college, 45 matches over two seasons) and spent a summer playing for the Sounders U23 (16 matches, 1440 minutes) in the PDL between 2011-12.

Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer signed Yedlin as a “homegrown” player in January of 2013. After just 56 matches with Seattle Yedlin was transferred to Tottenham. During his Seattle time he gained world-wide notice with stellar play at the World Cup in Brazil with the United States National Team.

Joey Gulino of FC Yahoo wrote:

USMNT head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has made no secret of his desire to see his players test themselves against the best by playing in Europe and pursuing opportunities in the world’s top leagues, and the Premier League certainly qualifies in that regard. Despite a perceived bias against American players in European soccer, Tottenham Hotspur has a history of giving Americans opportunities, even if some work out better than others.

In any case, Yedlin must make the most of his opportunities in training and in games. Regular first-choice defender Kyle Walker missed Saturday’s clash with a foot injury, but it’s not expected to keep him out too much longer.

But if Yedlin, who’s still just 21 years old, can continue to improve defensively while retaining the physical traits that make him useful in the attack, we could see him making appearances in the No. 12 shirt for Tottenham on a more regular basis.

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