There is no shortage of U.S. Men’s National Team stars that honed their craft in the halls of the FC Dallas academy in recent years.
Among them, striker Ricardo Pepi. An FCD Academy graduate whose rise in MLS last year made him a reported $20 million man in the international transfer market.
Ricardo’s younger brother, 18-year-old Diego, aims to be the next superstar in the club’s pipeline and family bloodline.
He hit a major milestone in that journey on Sunday when he scored his first-ever professional goal. In MLS NEXT Pro action with North Texas SC, the younger Pepi was able to save his club a point on the road in what’s becoming a hotly contested Western Conference.
“Every time coach Javi (Javier Cano, North Texas SC head coach) gives me the opportunity to come into the match, I set myself with the mentality that I need to score,” Pepi said. “I am happy that I was finally able to score my first professional goal. When I came in, I kept seeing their two (defenders) follow Nayrobi (Vargas) to the first post. When I saw Tyshawn (Rose) lining up to send in a cross, I decided to make a run towards the back post. I was able to free myself up at the back post and tuck the ball into the back of the net.”
Chances have been hard to come by for Pepi so far this year, as Sunday’s shift saw his season minutes tally climb to 92 across four substitution appearances, but the goal plus converting from the spot in the 2-2 game’s ensuing shootout might give Cano something to think about in the weeks to come.
He’s proven himself to be a worthy game-changer in the NTSC setup, and if he has his way, it could result in getting some more facetime in the MLS NEXT Pro proving ground.
As of now, North Texas SC is in need of a magic man. The 2022 MLS NEXT Pro playoff debutants have slipped to seventh place in the Western Conference following a run of four consecutive ties that each resulted in shootout losses.
Pepi just might be the man for the job if he can get more minutes. The youngster embodies the solution needed, in his view, that could help his club stay switched on.
“The team has been doing well every game. The only issue I feel is that we need to learn how to close out games. When we concede we tend to put our heads down,” he said following Sunday’s match against St Louis CITY2. “Instead, we need to keep fighting and push ourselves to do better. That will help us a lot to keep our confidence up and to keep on going.”
Pepi and North Texas SC return to action against LA Galaxy II on June 4. The game will be streamed on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
