We’re back, albeit a little late after I got back from the UK, with our ever-unscientific roster rankings. Power rankings are cool, so here’s a power ranking of all 44 contracted professionals playing for FC Dallas and North Texas SC.
We take into account who is playing well, who is playing at all, the feeling of the fans, and whose names are being talked about by us and our colleagues in the media.
Starting XI
| Rank | Trending | Comments | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jesus Ferreira FCD (F) | High: 1 | Low: 1 | — 0 | Jesus has two of FCD’s five goals since the last ranking, and the USMNT’s equalizer against Mexico. He’s head and shoulders above the rest of the team right now. – Dan |
| 2 | Alan Velasco FCD (F) | High: 2 | Low: 3 | — 0 | He missed about a month with injury but his absence only made it clear how important he is thus raising his stock instead of lowering it. – Buzz |
| 3 | Maarten Paes FCD (G) | High: 3 | Low: 6 | ▲ 3 | The two clean sheets on the road in April don’t even do Paes’ performances justice. – Dan |
| 4 | Paxton Pomykal FCD (M) | High: 4 | Low: 5 | — 0 | Of the midfielders on this team, Pomykal is in the best form but needs to improve in the final third and get on the score sheet more. – Buzz |
| 5 | Nkosi Tafari FCD (D) | High: 5 | Low: 9 | — 0 | It’s Kos’ defense when he’s fit. – Dan |
| 6 | Paul Arriola FCD (F) | High: 2 | Low: 6 | ▼ 3 | Paul has been in a funk all year, was struggling with a hamstring, and appears to have injured his groin. The season is trending in the wrong direction. – Buzz |
| 7 | Marco Farfan FCD (D) | High: 7 | Low: 7 | — 0 | Farfan now has a legitimate backup, hopefully, he can get the rest he needs and pick back up that mid-2022 form. – Dan |
| 8 | Jose Martínez FCD (D) | High: 8 | Low: 9 | ▲ 1 | Started five of the last six, grabbed a goal, and hasn’t been a disaster. – Dan |
| 9 | Sebastien Ibeagha FCD (D) | High: 9 | Low: 15 | ▲ 2 | Ibby is holding his own at right center back, his recovery speed is a big help. If I gotta pick two it’s going to be Ibby with Tafari. – Buzz |
| 10 | Geovane Jesus FCD (D) | High: 10 | Low: 13 | ▲ 3 | As much as Geovane is impressing going forward notching two assists, that NYCFC game was not pretty. – Dan |
| 11 | Tsiki Ntsabeleng FCD (M) | High: 10 | Low: 11 | ▼ 1 | Tsiki just isn’t a threat to start and is pretty much a pure bench role at this point but he always brings the fire. – Buzz |
In The Mix
| Rank | Trending | Comments | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Sebastian Lletget FCD (M) | High: 4 | Low: 14 | ▲ 2 | A slight improvement on what has been a rough start to the season. A certain someone’s tour announcement has brought Lletget some unwanted attention again. – Dan |
| 13 | Jesus Jimenez FCD (F) | High: 13 | Low: 15 | ▲ 2 | JJ is sometimes a starter in the 4-4-2 and when he subs in it’s usually for a shape change too. He may have to solo 9 when Ferreira is called up. – Buzz |
| 14 | Facundo Quignon FCD (M) | High: 14 | Low: 17 | ▲ 2 | Facu has pulled slightly ahead of Cerrillo in Coach’s eyes, crucially coming off the bench even when not starting, unlike Edwin. Got the goal against Portland too. – Dan |
| 15 | Edwin Cerrillo FCD (M) | High: 8 | Low: 15 | ▼ 7 | He’d be my full-time starter at 6 but for Coach Nico Edwin sure isn’t. Cerrillo seems to have lost the starting gig but had a pretty strong game vs Minnesota. – Buzz |
| 16 | Ema Twumasi FCD (D) | High: 11 | Low: 16 | ▼ 4 | Since our last ranking, Ema has served his red card suspension and bumped down to backup. – Dan |
| 17 | Sam Junqua FCD (D) | High: 17 | Low: 20 | ▲ 3 | Junqua proved himself capable in his start and is now part of the rotation. He needs to get more starts to reduce the load on Farfan. – Buzz |
| 18 | Bernard Kamungo FCD (F) | High: 18 | Low: 24 | ▲ 6 | Finally got his first FCD minutes of 2023, and the winner against RSL. Bernie hasn’t been in an NTX squad since. Can he become the go-to guy in the last 20 mins when chasing a goal? – Dan |
| 19 | Nolan Norris FCD (D) | High: 18 | Low: 23 | ▼ 1 | Norris remains 4th CB but hasn’t broken into MLS play. FCD has been using him as a mid of late to stretch his abilities. NTX is far better when he’s at CB than without. – Buzz |
| 20 | Jose Mulato FCD (F) | High: 17 | Low: 20 | ▼ 3 | Only made one bench for FCD since the last ranking. Started all seven NTX games since, with two goals and two assists, so he’s not giving up. – Dan |
Second Team
| Rank | Trending | Comments | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Jimmy Maurer FCD (G) | High: 21 | Low: 22 | ▲ 1 | Not getting PT but remains a leader and great locker room presence as the adult in the room. – Buzz |
| 22 | Antonio Carrera FCD (G) | High: 22 | Low: 24 | ▲ 1 | The NTX starter is now off to the U20 World Cup. – Dan |
| 23 | Jader Obrian FCD (F) | High: 18 | Low: 23 | ▼ 2 | Obrian, despite many fans’ wishes, continues to be the #3 wing but isn’t always dialed into the rest of the team. – Buzz |
| 24 | Justin Che FCD (D) | High: 12 | Low: 24 | ▼ 5 | Only played sporadically for Hoffenheim’s second team since the injury, but is off to the U20 World Cup. – Dan |
| 25 | Hope Avayevu NTX (F) | High: 25 | Low: 31 | ▲ 3 | Hope is North Texas SC’s best player this year and for my money it’s not close. The “Season of Hope” continues. – Buzz |
| 26 | Isaiah Parker FCD (D) | High: 22 | Low: 26 | ▼ 1 | Parker got his loan to San Antonio, starting three of four. He’s been subbed off at halftime twice and limped off in the last game before the break, so it’s not all sunshine and roses. – Dan |
| 27 | Collin Smith FCD (D) | High: 26 | Low: 27 | ▼ 1 | Smith has started all but one game since arriving in Birmingham. 10 games, 797 minutes. The loan is working as intended. – Buzz |
| 28 | Herbert Endeley FCD (D/F) | High: 28 | Low: 34 | ▲ 6 | Consistently starting, but the right back experiment doesn’t seem to be sticking as Endeley plays more on the wing. – Dan |
| 29 | Amet Korça FCD (D) | High: 29 | Low: 31 | ▲ 2 | North Texas is much better when he’s in. But just 9 minutes for FCD. Slow improvement but he’s not really in the CB convo yet. – Buzz |
| 30 | Tyshawn Rose NTX (D) | High: 30 | Low: 36 | ▲ 6 | Regular starter, and a three-assist game against St. Louis 2 highlights Rose’s danger even from fullback. – Dan |
| 31 | André Costa NTX (M) | High: 27 | Low: 31 | ▼ 4 | NTXSC’s captain but he’s not taking a step forward. So far he’s not kicking that MLS door open. – Buzz |
| 32 | Carl Sainté NTX (M) | High: 30 | Low: 32 | ▼ 2 | Playing consistent minutes, but not playing consistently well. – Dan |
In Reserve
| Rank | Trending | Comments | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | Alejandro Urzua NTX (M) | High: 29 | Low: 33 | ▼ 4 | Urzua seems to be growing vertically even faster than he’s improving. Still 17 and working as a 6 as much as an 8. – Buzz |
| 34 | Henri NTX (D) | High: 32 | Low: 34 | ▼ 2 | The Brazilian has put in 90 minutes every game aside from a sub appearance in Austin. – Dan |
| 35 | Dante Sealy FCD (F) | High: 25 | Low: 35 | — 0 | The loan seems to be flaming out at the end with just 2 appearences since March 10: 1 sub, 1 start. He was even left out of the squad once recently. Still only 1 goal and 1 assist this year for PSV Jong. Sealy returns to Dallas at the end of June. – Buzz |
| 36 | Diego Garcia NTX (M) | High: 33 | Low: 36 | ▼ 3 | Only five minutes since the last ranking up until a start against St. Louis going 81 minutes. – Dan |
| 37 | Theo Ferreira NTX (M) | High: 37 | Low: 42 | ▲ 5 | Theo has shown some spark and changed his game moniker to “Theo Ferreira” but he’s in and out of the lineup. – Buzz |
| 38 | Pablo Torre NTX (F) | High: 33 | Low: 39 | ▲ 1 | Only 83 combined minutes from the season so far. Torre has gone from first-team preseason camp to Nayrobi Vargas taking his North Texas start. – Dan |
| 39 | Tomas Pondeca NTX (F) | High: 37 | Low: 39 | ▼ 2 | His PT has fallen off from the beginning of the year making way for Endeley. – Buzz |
| 40 | Alejandro Araneda NTX (M) | High: 34 | Low: 40 | ▼ 2 | A bit-part player with only one start, and three games not making it off the bench. – Dan |
| 41 | Yeicar Perlaza NTX (D) | High: 35 | Low: 41 | ▼ 1 | Yes, he’s fast but he’s prone to some shockingly poor decision-making. Tactics are poor and the defense is a shambles when he plays (it’s not just him.) – Buzz |
| 42 | Manuel Caicedo NTX (D) | High: 36 | Low: 42 | ▼ 1 | Caicedo got the full 90 in Colorado but that’s his only playing time so far. – Dan |
| 43 | Michael Webber NTX (GK) | High: 43 | Low: 43 | — 0 | Has yet to make an appearance. Is more PT in the cards after Eyestone and Stewart head to college this fall? – Buzz |
| 44 | Tarik Scott FCD (F) | High: 26 | Low: 44 | — 0 | Out for the season |
Thoughts and Musings
Our number one yet again is Jesus Ferreira. He’s the guy until he leaves the club.
We have a three-way tie for this month’s winner. Bernard Kamungo, Tyshawn Rose, and Herbert Endeley all rise six spots.
Bernie put a minuteless March behind him by scoring the winner in his season debut against Real Salt Lake. Rose has put his stamp on the North Texas Roster with a three-assist game this past weekend, while Endeley is putting in some man-of-the-match performances on the wing.
Edwin Cerrillo‘s seven-place tumble is the biggest. Is he the team’s best defensive midfielder? Probably, but he’s not Nico Estevez’s choice right now as consistent minutes get ever more necessary in his development.