FRISCO, Texas — The first thing that comes to mind when talking FC Dallas is its star-studded academy system. Producing players such as Weston McKennie, Paxton Pomykal and Kellyn Acosta, the academy has earned prestige for the professionals it has developed.
Except there’s more.
Plenty more.
North Texas Soccer Club defender Brecc Evans is one of those academy players who might not receive the same spotlight as some of his counterparts. Evans was on the team that won the 2016 US Developmental Academy championship and the 2017 Dallas Cup, playing with many of the household names that are often referenced with the academy.
Evans can continue writing his own story Saturday, while leading NTSC in the USL League One Final against the Greensville Triumph (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+).
“It’s extra special because I get to share this with a lot of players who I played with in the academy, who are now on the first team or North Texas,” Evans told Pro Soccer USA. “All of it coming together is a surreal moment but it’s also a huge opportunity to win silverware for the club, and the job still isn’t done. If we don’t win in the final, the season will be seen as a failure. It’s important that we win and if we do, it will be an extremely proud moment.”
Forgoing college
While we hear about the names of the more prominent FC Dallas academy graduates, many go to college and play collegiate soccer instead of signing a homegrown contract. It’s the reality; not every player is made to be a professional player at age 17, 18 or ever. After his years with the academy, Evans elected to go play college soccer at Cal Poly, a Division I school.
He started all 16 matches for the Mustangs last year, playing more minutes than any player on the roster. But like another teammate on that 2017 Dallas Cup roster, Reggie Cannon, one semester of college was enough, and Evans turned pro by signing with North Texas SC Jan. 3.
“That was a really tough decision for me and my family,” Evans recalled. “I know before I left for college, I had some conversations with the club and they said they would watch me in college. I had a pretty good fall season and they were keeping tabs, watching the live streams. I talked to [head coach] Luchi [Gonzalez], and originally he was going to be the North Texas coach and he said that the club is interested and they see me as a project, not quite ready for the first team, but there’s something there.
“It was a really difficult decision to leave a college scholarship to a pretty good, prestigious university, but I’m still doing college online and in terms of soccer, I do love soccer. I always wanted to make a career out of it and this just seemed like the right path for me by giving me a stage, giving me an opportunity to show my talent and move on to the next level.”
Developing as a pro
As FC Dallas’ second team, North Texas has plenty of roster turnover between matches. Players are sent down to get minutes and the team is forced to adjust based on some of the first team’s needs. Evans has been a consistent part of the back line and has played with players he may have trained with all week. One day before a match, the FC Dallas players train with North Texas and analyze opponents.
NTSC and FCD have a consistent playing style, aiming to build from the back and be dynamic in attack. It makes Evans’ transition a lot easier and, while not seamless, the first-team players have had a positive effect.
“It’s not like FC Dallas deviates that far away from North Texas,” Evans said. “It usually slots in very well but at the same time, playing next to someone like Callum [Montgomery] a lot of games and having to switch up to a different partner or different outside back, it can be a challenge just with the timing of the movements, and that’s all part of the developmental process is figuring that out in the game. Usually, the players that can find solutions in real time are the players that can make it.”
Being that consistent figure comes with responsibility. Evans is the captain of this team, even at 20 years old and in his first professional season. Head coach Eric Quill has pushed Evans in an uncomfortable position, playing him as a left-footed right centerback, and Evans has taken on the challenge. Quill complimented Evans’ accountability as a captain and being a key voice in the locker room.
“His communication in the back and really organize people around him, I think that’s where he’s grown a lot, versus just taking care of himself and maybe the guy next to him,” Quill said. “He’s actually expanded his vision and communication to the whole backline and guys playing in front of him and having them move around as chess pieces. When you do that as a center back, along with your athleticism and technical ability, when you start to lead from six, seven, eight guys around you, it shows expanded vision and growth in your knowledge of the game as a whole.”
A towering presence in the back, Evans’ composure can be seen in the number of fouls he’s committed this season, just five in 23 matches. It’s an impressive number for a player on an attack-minded team. That composure, paired with his leadership, has created a unique year of development for Evans.
“It can be overwhelming at times,” Evans said. “I feel like in the first half against [of the semifinal against Forward Madison], there were some nerves out there, and kind of trying to help settle the nerves of other guys while doing that helps myself find that calmness in the game. So, to guide them through the match and be vocal throughout, it helps calm me down as well.”
The final
NTSC is one step away from earning the inaugural USL League One crown after claiming the regular-season trophy. In the team’s way is the Greenville Triumph, the best defensive team in the league. Greenville allowed only 22 goals in the regular season and is known for a compact defensive block, something many teams try to do to slow down North Texas.
“They’re very effective at it,” Evans said. “That’s going to be the main goal of the game, to break them down through the wide areas, or combining through the middle to get a shot off. If we’re able to break the deadlock early in the first half, since it is a playoff game, a final, they can’t settle for 1-0 and they’re going to have to open up, and I think that’s when we can really exploit them. The message from Eric to the guys is to come out flying, so we can get the first goal early on and really open up the game because we believe in an open game, with Ronaldo [Damus’s] pace and them not sticking to their concepts, we would have the advantage.”
The pride for FC Dallas runs deeply in Evans. He spoke about extra motivation he has to win a trophy for the side that believed in him. It’s a chance to continue something special in Dallas, adding a well-run USL League One team to a well-run academy.
Maybe Evans can be that role model for players who aren’t ready to be first-team players at 18 or 19. He can illuminate the roadmap of going through the process: go to college, play well with the second team and develop as a player.
But his focus is on Saturday and hoisting a trophy in Toyota Stadium.
“When I was on the academy, winning the national championship and then the first Dallas Cup was huge to bring it to the club,” Evans said. “I remember the first-team players and staff and everyone was behind us. Now, it’s the same ambiance around here. Everyone in the front office, Dan Hunt, Clark Hunt, everyone is in our locker room cheering us on. I know everyone is behind us for the final, and just that support really magnifies what it means to the organization, especially in the inaugural season.
For me, a player who came through the academy, it’d make me extremely proud to be able to lift that cup.”