Eight players from Seattle Sounders Academy and S2 — Josh Atencio, Khai Brisco, Azriel Gonzalez, Blake Malone, Danny Leyva, Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez, Danny Robles and Ray Serrano — have been named to the 2018 United Soccer Coaches All-American Team, which honors the 47 top prospects across the country. With a mix of top talents from various rungs of the Rave Green’s player development pipeline, Sounders FC is tied with the LA Galaxy as the most represented club on the annual list.
Additionally, S2 winger Marlon Vargas and U-17 center back Eric Kinzner were named to the 2018 All-West Region Team.
The United Soccer Coaches will celebrate the All-American recipients at an event in Kansas City, Mo., on Jan. 12, 2019.
“We are proud that our players continue to be recognized, in this case it is nearly a whole team of them,” said Sounders FC Director of Player Development and Academy Director Marc Nicholls. “I think it’s quite fitting, as all of them embody what it means to be part of a team.”
On the back of a banner year for the club’s player development pipeline, which included a U-17 USSDA national championship and seven prospects signing with S2, the accolades are indicative of the club’s burgeoning reputation on the national stage.
Five of the honorees have already signed with S2, making them integral components of the USL outfit’s youth movement, while seven have received U.S. youth national team call-ups in the past year. Every young Sounder on the All-American Team has trained with the First Team and earned professional minutes with S2 last season.
You can find more information on the event here.
