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MLS Analysis

MLS Youth Report: Raines, Miller, Westfield, & Shore impress in weekend slate

ASN takes a look at how young American prospects fared in MLS in the last slate of games, starting with an impressive showing in New England
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
July 28, 2026
10:00 AM

ANOTHER ROUND OF games in the 2026 MLS season has left us with plenty of news to break down with regards to young American players in the league, some of it is good and some of it could be better. It comes at an interesting time with the U.S. U-20 team currently involved in World Cup qualifying while most of the team’s best players were not released for the tournament. But many of these players continue to see significant minutes in MLS this season.

Here is a look at the latest rundown.

 

Miller & Raines star for New England

 

The New England Revolution easily took care of business in a 4-1 win over a reeling Atlanta United. For Marko Mitrovic’s team, three U.S. youth internationals factored into goal contributions with Peyton Miller and Brooklyn Raines scoring goals and Marcos Zambrano picking up an assist. All three players played for Mitrovic on the 2025 U-20 World Cup team. Ethan Kohler

Raines and Miller were particularly sharp. For Miller, he played as a winger and scored his fourth goal of the season with a nice run to get on the end of a pass to the far post.

Raines, meanwhile, was in the running with Carles Gil as the best player on the field. He controlled the central midfield. His stats were impressive

  • 90 minutes
  • 86 touches
  • 1 goal
  • 63/69 passing
  • 2/2 long balls
  • 4/5 dribbles
  • 7/11 in winning ground duels
  • 2 times fouled

Meanwhile, it was Zambrano who assisted Raines on his goal.

Miller and Raines are both top prospects for the U.S. Olympic team. Miller is also eligible for the current U-20 team but likely will focus on the Olympics instead. Likely in September we will see both take part in Olympic camps as the team begins preparing for that cycle.

Meanwhile, U.S. U-20 midfielder Cooper Sanchez started for Atlanta in what is turning into an extremely expensive and disappointing era for the club.

 

Westfield & Pierre stand out for Philly

 

The Philadelphia Union have looked like an entirely new team since the restart after a 1-0 win over Seattle for its second win in two games.

Frankie Westfield has been outstanding for Philadelphia the last two games, with the right back serving up assists in each game. In the win over Seattle, Westfield hit a brilliant ball out of the back to find Milan Illoski for a volley finish.

Westfield, 20, is one of the more underrated American prospects right now and should be the front runner to start for the Olympic team.

Neil Pierre, 18, also made his first start for Philadelphia and the highly rated tall central defender played an important role in helping Philadelphia keep a clean sheet for the win. He has certainly lived up to the expectations since returning from his loan to Lyngby.

Also in this game, Cavan Sullivan continues to start and make positive impacts for Philadelphia. The 16 year old wide midfielder is finally in his groove for the Union and has impressed. But in a tough moment late, he became overly emotional after being stripped cleanly of a ball from Seattle’s Stuart Hawkins, 19, who is also in the mix for the U.S. Olympic team this coming cycle.

Seattle is not in a good place, having been on the wrong end of three losses in a row. U.S. U-20 hopeful Snyder Brunell played all 90 minutes in central midfield but did not make much of an impact.

 

Ellis impresses again in Orlando win

 

Orlando City has also been in great form since the restart. After a 4-0 away win over San Jose in its first game, Orlando returned home and defeated a very good Nashville team 1-0. U.S. U-20 forward Justin Ellis started and assisted in the game’s only goal against Nashville (after he picked up an assist in the win over San Jose).

Ellis, 19, was always dangerous in this game as he had 10 touches in Nashville’s box and took six shots. He is a very aggressive forward, but his assist was classy and showed that he will look to combine with his teammates.

If the U.S. U-20 team qualifies for the World Cup, Ellis is likely to play a big role at that tournament.

For Nashville, U.S. Olympic team midfielder Matthew Corcoran played 89 minutes in the loss. Despite that, he wad decent and continues to make a case to be part of the Olympic team.

 

Red Bulls youth struggling

 

The New York Red Bulls have played terribly since the return from break, losing to Charlotte 2-0 for its second loss in a row.

Adri Mehmeti was sent off for a second yellow card in the dying minutes and will now be suspended next weekend. Prior to that, he was pretty good. Julian Hall has not been able to get involved nearly enough as is needed. He needs to develop a more powerful shot from distance as well as become more of an aerial threat. Matthew Dos Santos played 84 minutes at left back and was among the better Red Bull players.

But Michael Bradley might need to consider making changes to his approach if the team cannot turn things around.

 

Shore steadying NYCFC midfield

 

During the World Cup break, New York City FC was hit with an injury crisis to its midfield. That has opened the door for U.S. U-20 midfielder Jonny Shore to return to NYCFC’s starting lineup as he did last season when Keaton Parks was injured.

On Saturday, Shore went 85 minutes in a 3-1 win over Chicago playing in his usual defensive midfield position. The U.S. needs more prospects in this position and Shore’s performances last season an now continue to be encouraging.

 

Elsewhere

 

San Diego defeated FC Dallas 1-0. Oscar Verhoeven, 20, played well at right back for San Diego going the whole 90 minutes. Luca Bombino returned to the squad and played the final few minutes while attacking midfielder David Vazquez came into the game in the 73rd minute.

Nolan Norris, 20, played on the left side of a three-man backline for FC Dallas.

San Jose and the LA Galaxy played to a 1-1 draw. U.S. U-20 right midfielder Harbor Miller played all 90 minutes for the Galaxy as his role seems to have expanded since the World Cup restart.

Similarly, Jude Terry, 17, is also playing a lot more for LAFC since the restart and he played 28 minutes plus stoppage time in a 4-0 win over Sporting Kansas City.  

Portland defeated Real Salt Lake 2-1 but top American prospect Zavier Gozo was not effective over 90 minutes for Real Salt Lake although RSL was a man short starting in the 31st minute.

Similarly, Colorado was down a man against St. Louis starting in the 12th minute and nearly hung on for a 0-0 draw but conceded a goal late in a 1-0 loss. U.S. Olympic hopeful Noah Cobb played the second half for the Rapids.

Ervin Torres, 18, played the last 19 minutes for Austin in a 3-0 loss to Houston.  

U.S. U-23 hopeful Tate Johnson played 89 minutes for Vancouver in a 0-0 draw at Minnesota.

Homegrown forward Preston Plambeck, 20, played the last 10 minutes for Inter Miami in a 1-0 win over CF Montreal.  

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