North Texas SC finished 3rd in USL League One and FC Dallas just extended its season. That of course means, above all else, it’s time to fit in another roster ranking.
As always we are looking at all 46 players under a professional contract with FC Dallas and North Texas SC and power ranking them. We take into account who’s played well, who’s played at all, who Luchi is full of praise for, who our colleagues in the media are writing about, and who the fans are talking about.
Starting XI:
| 1 (-) | Andres Ricaurte High: 1 | Low: 21 | Probably FCD’s most important player, although it’s close. Moved to a deep-lying, playmaking-8 position and I liked him even better. – Buzz |
| 2 (+2) | Matt Hedges High: 1 | Low: 7 | A spell with Reto Ziegler and Bressan at the back reminded us all of how important Matty Hedges is to FC Dallas. – Dan |
| 3 (-) | Bryan Reynolds High: 3 | Low: 20 | He’s become the most important part of the FC Dallas offense. When he’s getting forward the whole thing works. When he sits back, FCD is static and predictable. – Buzz |
| 4 (+3) | Ryan Hollingshead High: 4 | Low: 12 | Another goal against Miami – scoring the winning goal in each of FCD’s previous three wins – and a strong performance on both sides of the ball. Ho’head is in perfect form heading for the playoffs. – Dan |
| 5 (+1) | Michael Barrios High: 2 | Low: 7 | Barrios is, mostly, back on form. Is he as good as last year? No. Is he on the downhill at 29? Time will tell. – Buzz |
| 6 (-1) | Thiago Santos High: 1 | Low: 6 | Mixed up his passing patterns to great effect while targeted by Houston. He’s just struggling with the two-a-week aspect. – Dan |
| 7 (+1) | Jimmy Maurer High: 3 | Low: 21 | Solid, steady, fantastic communicator. Not the athlete Jesse was but he excels in other areas. “Allstate” indeed (I’m gonna make this nickname happen!). – Buzz |
| 8 (+1) | Franco Jara High: 4 | Low: 18 | A pair of goals and a much more confident striker. He’s looking more lively, chasing loose balls that he maybe wasn’t a few weeks ago. – Dan |
| 9 (-7) | Reto Ziegler High: 2 | Low: 13 | Missed a game for Covid proximity and the team didn’t miss a beat. Bressan held his spot, will that continue? – Buzz |
| 10 (+2) | Bressan High: 9 | Low: 17 | Looked terrible alongside Ziegler but didn’t miss a beat in place of Ziegler. FCD needs more athleticism at center back but he may have helped free up $800k in salary in the shorter term. – Dan |
| 11 (+2) | Fafa Picault High: 8 | Low: 16 | A stunning performance against Houston with 2 goals and an assist. Now do it again. (In other words, consistency is an issue.) – Buzz |
In The Mix:
| 12 (-1) | Tanner Tessmann High: 6 | Low: 19 | First choice off the bench with his versatility in the midfield. – Dan |
| 13 (+2) | Jesus Ferreira High: 10 | Low: 17 | His high positioning as an off-striker against Houston made the offense click. Sometimes it’s about the best set of XI players and not the best XI players. – Buzz |
| 14 (-) | Santiago Mosquera High: 14 | Low: 31 | Back from injury, but Picault may have finally done enough to make Santi the second choice. – Dan |
| 15 (-5) | Bryan Acosta High: 7 | Low: 15 | Got hurt, missed games. Has Ricaurte replaced him in the team as the linking-8? – Buzz |
| 16 (+1) | Johnny Nelson High: 13 | Low: 22 | His build play and timing in getting forward has come on leaps and bounds. Unlucky not to get an assist against Houston – Dan |
| 17 (-1) | Ricardo Pepi High: 9 | Low: 17 | Not challenging for a starting spot, Pepi remains a late game sub only. That’s fine… for now. – Buzz |
| 18 (+9) | Ema Twumasi High: 18 | Low: 27 | Making sub appearances ahead of Dante Sealy since his return. – Dan |
| 19 (-1) | Brandon Servania High: 14 | Low: 19 | He’s fallen behind Acosta and Tessmann… and now maybe Ricaurte too. He needs a spark. – Buzz |
| 20 (-1) | Thomas Roberts High: 19 | Low: 29 | Played the best game of his career in the NTX finale but hasn’t made the FCD 18 of late. – Dan |
Second Team:
| 21 (-1) | Callum Montgomery High: 12 | Low: 21 | Hasn’t gotten a sniff since his return from SAFC. This winter is going to be huge for him one way or another because Nkosi is progressing. – Buzz |
| 22 (+1) | Phelipe Megiolaro High: 21 | Low: 22 | We still know nothing about his game other than being a Brazil U-23. – Dan |
| 23 (+7) | Eddie Munjoma High: 23 | Low: 39 | Fantastic showing with North Texas. So good he should now be in the 2021 FCD mix as Reynolds back up. – Buzz |
| 24 (+1) | Nkosi Burgess High: 24 | Low: 33 | Impressed for North Texas SC and just today returned to FCD practice with Eddie Munjoma and Justin Che – Dan |
| 25 (-3) | Dante Sealy High: 20 | Low: 28 | Has slipped down the rotation since Twumasi’s return. No longer getting minutes. – Buzz |
| 26 (-3) | Arturo Rodriguez High: 22 | Low: 33 | If half-season awards were a thing, Arturo is NTX’s MVP. But what is the next step? – Dan |
| 27 (-3) | Kyle Zobeck High: 15 | Low: 27 | Entrenched as 3rd choice once again. Will he ride out the career here as 3rd? – Buzz |
| 28 (-2) | Edwin Cerrillo High: 23 | Low: 37 | Got some FCD minutes but Cerrillo is firmly behind a fit Acosta, Ricaurte, Tessmann, and Servania even as a 6. He’ll be looking to grow with NTX next year. – Dan |
| 29 (-1) | Nicky Hernandez High: 28 | Low: 33 | Terrific signing. He should get a real look for FCD in 2021, but linking-8 is a crowded position. – Buzz |
| 30 (+1) | Justin Che High: 31 | Low: 31 | Played all bar the final 13 minutes of North Texas SC’s season. Experienced his first session with the first team as a Homegrown this morning. The future is bright. – Dan |
| 31 (+1) | Carlos Avilez High: 31 | Low: 43 | Entrenched as the NTX #1 can he challenge Zobeck for FCD 3rd? So far he has not. – Buzz |
| 32 (+2) | Alex Bruce High: 30 | Low: 42 | Battled through injuries to finish the season strong-ish. He’ll be looking to recover and go again in ‘21. – Dan |
In Reserve:
| 33 (-4) | Ronaldo Damus High: 27 | Low: 38 | 2020 was a step back for Damus. He needs a loan and a new challenge. I don’t think it’s going to happen with FCD in MLS. – Buzz |
| 34 (+3) | Derek Waldeck High: 37 | Low: 45 | A long shot from the beginning, he’s developed his technical side massively, but MLS may be a step too far. – Dan |
| 35 (-) | Alisson High: 33 | Low: 43 | Solid and steady, a great piece for NTX. But far too static and immobile for MLS. – Buzz |
| 36 (-3) | Gibran Rayo High: 30 | Low: 42 | Incredibly gifted but needs to put it together. Two sub appearances in the last two games as Eddie Munjoma played on the wing instead. – Dan |
| 37 (+1) | Imanol Almaguer High: 34 | Low: 44 | Missed was too much of 2020 and didn’t progress. – Buzz |
| 38 (+1) | Francis Atuahene High: 18 | Low: 39 | We spoke about Twumasi pulling ahead a year ago while both were in danger of losing their place at FCD. Ema is getting minutes and Francis must be considering his next move. – Dan |
| 39 (-3) | Brecc Evans High: 30 | Low: 39 | Saying 2020 was a rough year is being kind because Evans took a step back with his performance. The injuries didn’t help. – Buzz |
| 40 (+1) | David Rodriguez High: 33 | Low: 41 | D.Rod regressed, sitting for the final two games and not even making the bench frequently before that. – Dan |
| 41 (-1) | Juan Manuel Alvarez High: 26 | Low: 44 | Injuries derailed his promise. The window is probably closed at 24 years of age as he was outplayed by Nicky Hernandez. – Buzz |
| 42 (-) | Luis Zamudio High: 32 | Low: 42 | Second choice keeper for North Texas and surely not likely to be back. – Dan |
| 43 (-) | Philip Ponder High: 43 | Low: 46 | A bench player at this time. Probably not in the long term plans. – Buzz |
| 44 (-) | Pedrinho High: 44 | Low: 47 | Other than his dozen names, by far the most forgettable signing for NTX not even reaching 60 mins across the season. – Dan |
| 45 (-) | Paxton Pomykal High: 2 | Low: 45 | Out for the year. – Buzz |
| 46 (-) | Pablo Aranguiz High: 23 | Low: 48 | A broken foot seemed to quell the whispers of European interest. – Dan |
Two of the team’s USL loanees won the week. Ema Twumasi returned from Austin Bold to immediately win minutes off the bench for FC Dallas. The Ghanaian winger climbs nine spots, two ahead of Eddie Munjoma.
Munjoma, along with Nkosi Burgess, only got a short run with North Texas SC but both impressed with goals and their defensive output. Ryan Hollingshead talked up Munjoma on a recent media call, and he’s the clear favorite to inherit the starting right back spot whenever Big Bad Bryan gets sold.
At the other end, it’s another seven place move as Reto Ziegler takes a tumble. After having to quarantine due to indirect contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, Ziegler didn’t walk back into the starting lineup as you’d expect. Bressan gave a good account of himself and could spell the end of the Swiss’ time in Dallas.