Last week we reviewed a number of players playing locally who might have a shot to make the squad in the future, today, we will ask the big question: who should we sign to academy contracts?
I don’t think any of the players listed below would walk into our team and take someone’s job in the starting eleven or on the bench. I do think each of these players could be very useful in the event of an injury crisis and potentially useful for fixture congestion (think about what the next two weeks look like). Especially in the case of an injury crisis, having players already integrated into the team would be beneficial for obvious reasons. While it might be a long shot to gain playing time, it would be useful for them to understand the system and what would be required of them if they were ever needed on the pitch.
NOTE: This is just for fun and to fill some time in your work week, but before we dive into the players, I want to note that I did work in the front office for a while. At the start of my time with the club, I pitched Jay on many players, none of whom are currently on the roster. After helping with three rounds of tryouts and then player signing announcements I have a general idea of what the player profile is for this league, but I am a terrible judge of on-field talent. So not only am I not applying any inside info here, but I’m bad at this. Additionally, the sheer complexity of getting a player on an academy contract is probably prohibitive at this point in the season, so please don’t go tweeting at leadership asking when the club is actually going to do this. Point is, this is for fun and if you are fun hater, sorry!
The Perfect Pedigrees
For this group, the players who best match the pedigree of a future pro and have the on field talent to back that up.
Name: Harrison Bouma
Position: Goalkeeper
Currently playing: University of Nebraska, Omaha (Freshman)
Backstory: Harrison is a huge person at 19 years old standing 6’4” and 201lbs. He also has a pretty solid pedigree. From Leawood, KS, he attended four different high schools while playing for the Sporting KC Academy his junior and senior years. He followed this up with a gap year as the third keeper for OKC Energy on an academy contract. After that season was over, he committed to UNO and began attending school in January. When the new Maverick signings were announced this is what Coach Warming said about Harrison: he “is, perhaps, the most physically and mentally mature goalkeeper I have ever had out of high school and I had five goalkeepers in a row sign pro contracts. His approach every single day is so professional and positive. He is a tremendous influence on the team. He is a coach’s ideal person to work with on a daily basis.”
Video: This incredibly short video from the OKC Twitter is the most recent clip I can find.
There is also an 11 minute video of him playing at the SKC Academy from 2017. Watch all 11 minutes with a grain of salt.
Why it might not work: I am unclear if Bouma would be allowed to sign another academy contract for a different club having signed with OKC last season.
Why it should work: Harrison is in town, and has been a 3rd keeper for a USL Championship side as recently as last season. That sounds pretty decent for an emergency fourth keeper. Did you notice there was no goalkeeper on the bench on against Tucson? That is risky at best, indicating we may only have two goalkeepers at the moment. Let’s get Harrison into camp in between classes, start working with two of the best GK coaches in the area (Daniel Galvis and Brian Holt), and keep him developing.
Name: Diego Gutierrez
Position: Forward, Winger
Currently playing: Creighton (Senior, transferred from UNO)
Backstory: Oh Diego Guiterrez. If there was ever a player destined to be an Owl, I’d think it was the greatest prep player in the history of Nebraska. For those not familiar, Diego scored 112 goals in his four seasons at Ralston with 43 assists thrown in for good measure. He’s been committed to the three major soccer programs in the state: Hastings, before Jay Mims flipped him to UNO, and now he’s due to play at Creighton if/when soccer resumes for the Big East. Also he’s played for the Bugeaters. Owen Godberson of Mavs radio says: “he’s best out wide where he can use his pace and his skill on the ball to get to the end line and make something happen.” In his highlight videos, which I suspect he edits himself, you will see a dynamic player with an eye popping bag of tricks he is able to use at almost any time. Please watch these videos, he is a joy to watch on the pitch.
Video:
Why it might not work: My hot take was that Diego transferred to Creighton to increase his chances of being taken in the MLS draft. After all there have only been three MLS SuperDrafts without a Creighton player being taken, and in two of those years, Creighton players were selected in the supplemental draft. Creighton followed up their only year without a single draft pick, 2015, with four picks in the 2016 draft. UNO has had two players, Xavier Gomez and Emir Alihodzic, drafted from their program all time. Additionally, I’m not certain that Diego would make the age cut off, but I’d trust our front office to win the fight on that one.
Why it should work: Evan Conway is a fairly unique player for Union Omaha, he’s left footed, plays on the left, and is willing to run directly at people when needed. Sebas would be the natural replacement if Evan were unavailable, but Sebas is our starting right midfielder. Now we have a plethora of players who are filling in ably on the right side: see Panchot, Austin, Molina, Christian, and Sousa, Panzani Ferrety. We also have Manny Lira on the left. Without knocking any of them, Diego is more creative with the ball at his feet and would bring a different dimension for depth. Interestingly enough, the player I see as most similar to Diego is Kobe Perez who parted ways with the club. Having a player as creative as Diego could be an interesting card to play for our club. I think Diego could also be an understudy to Ethan, dropping back into midfield and springing other attackers with pinpoint passes. Additionally, it would allow Diego to continue to bolster his case to be an MLS draft pick. Seems like a win-win to me.
So what’s missing?
A center back. Our depth at center back is great right now, but it should be noted our starting left center back is our back up left back. A fifth center back would be a luxury item for sure, but if it could be done for free, that would be great. Got a hot tip on who that academy center back should be? Hit me up on twitter @union_omaha_ben.
Who Gives A Hoot? 