Shane O’Neill Is On The Right Track For US Soccer Stardom

That would be a great move for Shane, of course. Ireland isn't the best of teams and I'm willing to bet that he could star for them for years to come. But I'm a selfish American, and I think that he's not going to have to pull the 'pick the team that is worse so I'll get way more caps' stunt that so many duel-nationality players seem to go for. (We're still mad that you didn't, Rossi!)

It should be even more of a youth movement this time around, with 18-22 year old players getting the calls instead of 24-27 year old players. Essentially, we should start getting to the point soon where our best players don't have to graduate from the U-23's before ever sniffing the senior team, which has frustratingly been the norm for years, it seems. Shane O'Neill, barring a disaster, should be among that group of pioneers.

That's not to say that I don't think a higher ceiling can happen for him, though.

In O'Neill's case, he's only 19 years old. At 19, he's a starter on the MLS team that has allowed the second-fewest goals in the league through 14 games played. He's looked mighty good while doing so as well, and has to go down as one of the best homegrown signings on the year right alongside DeAndre Yedlin for this season. (Yedlin, of course, is a similarly fantastic player that should be in consideration for the revolving door that has been the right back spot for the USMNT in a few years.) Most importantly, the Rapids have yet to lose a single game that he has started. That ain't too shabby for a kid that wasn't expected to start getting regular playing time for a few years at the earliest, playing a position that he really had never played prior to this season.

It doesn't hurt that he's been doing quite well for the USMNT U-20 side, either. He started every game of those World Cup qualification games and didn't make many mistakes all the while, and only skipped their last time out because the Rapids had to request his services to get around injuries.

If Shane can continue on the blazingly fast train to the top he's already been riding, he'll be on track for American stardom in no time at all. People may not have watched him much, since he plays for the boring ol' Rapids, but they should know his name soon enough. Let's say… 2015?