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It’s not every day that a Real Salt Lake academy player scores a professional goal while they’re still in the youth system, but Richard Ledezma just made it look far easier than it certainly is.
Here's the Ledezma goal. Good, patient, professional run, and he did a nice job of sending the 'keeper the wrong way. Only seen him 3 or 4 times now, but it always strikes me how unhurried he looks. pic.twitter.com/kEIgq9GeFU
— Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) June 5, 2018
Ledezma, 17, scored tonight against Rio Grande Valley for Real Monarchs for his first professional goal, capitalizing on a cutback from USL’s best-ever goalscorer, Chandler Hoffman.
Having come in for his fifth appearance of the season early in the first half for Sebastian Velasquez, Ledezma was tasked with filling in for the attacking midfielder.
He’s been a fairly consistent selection at youth international levels for the United States, last being selected by U.S. U-20s manager Tab Ramos for a March training camp in Spain and a May camp in Florida. One would imagine he’s likely to make the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup roster for the U.S. come next year.
One of the exciting prospects for the U.S., Ledezma is sure to garner more attention if he continues playing in USL — and there may be an opportunity looming for him to make the jump to a professional contract, at this rate.
Here's a sequence that shows how much of an asset Ledezma is in possession. So quick and precise and his first touch is instinctively space-finding. A cameo with RSL would be interesting to see if he shines more when he's surrounded by higher quality. pic.twitter.com/nANoh5iiXR
— Scuffed (@zlebmada) May 31, 2018