TUKWILA — The Seattle Sounders’ first homegrown player, DeAndre Yedlin, was an instant success.
Their second and third homegrowns, Sean Okoli and Aaron Kovar, remain works in progress.
This week, the Sounders announced their fourth homegrown signing — 17-year-old forward Victor Mansaray of Fife — and hopes once again are high.
“He’s a player who shows a good maturity level on the field,” Seattle coach Sigi Schmid said. “I remember Kei Kamara trained with me at the LA Galaxy at roughly about the same age. Ironically, they’re from the same place: Sierra Leone. And I think at the same age, maybe Kei had more raw physical ability, but I think Victor soccer-wise is ahead of where Kei was at that age. And obviously Kamara has had a pretty decent career (with 52 goals over 10 seasons) in our league.”
Mansaray will train with the first-team Sounders. He isn’t eligible to play in Major League Soccer play until 2015. He also could be a candidate for playing time with the new Sounders 2 team in the USL-Pro League, although he’s setting his sights higher.
“My goal is to be on the first team,” he said, “and to come in every day and try to get a spot.”
Schmid didn’t rule that out. However, he said S2 will provide a useful option that Okoli and Kovar lacked in their rookie seasons, when playing time has been scarce.
“It’s an alternative to them going to college,” Schmid said. “I think with Victor, not going to college and going this route because we have S2, is a route that suits his development a little better.”
A homegrown designation allows a player from a team academy to move directly onto that team’s roster without being subject to the SuperDraft or other typical player-allocation methods.
Mansaray was raised in Sierra Leone and spent time in Jamaica before moving to Western Washington. His family lived in Puyallup before moving to Fife, where he joined Norpoint FC, Crossfire and finally the Sounders academy midway through the 2012-13 season. He immediately led the U-16 team with 18 goals and this season has scored four goals in eight matches with the U-18. He also has played with the United States U-18 national team.
He’s definitely noticed the higher quality with the first team.
“Over here it’s a lot quicker than the academy, you’ve got to be mentally there,” Mansaray said. “You can’t be messed up. You can’t be doing the little stuff you be doing down there with the academy. Here it’s business time. Everything is just business. Everything is professional.”
Mansaray has caught the eye of Sounders forward Clint Dempsey.
“He’s a kid for the future,” Dempsey said. “He has to keep working hard and progressing as a player. The future is bright. But being … at a young age in this environment is only going to help you reach your full potential. Hopefully he takes advantage of that. He’s a good kid, so I wish him the best.”
Added time
All tickets have been sold for the second leg of the Sounders-FC Dallas Western Conference semifinal series to be played 7:30 p.m. Monday at CenturyLink Field. … Schmid said he expects midfielder Gonzalo Pineda (leg muscle) to be available Monday, but that midfielder Andy Rose (knee) needs another week or so. Midfielder Marco Pappa, who had sat out Wednesday training with flu symptoms, returned Thursday.
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