Future Watch: Mark McKenzie Rookie Soccer Cards, Philadelphia Union – MLS side Philadelphia Union is known to give young players a real opportunity to break into the first team. They have done that with center back Mark McKenzie and he is rewarding their faith in him. The team signed McKenzie as a Homegrown Player in 2018 and recently agreed to a new deal that could keep him at the club through 2024.
McKenzie just turned 21 in February right before the MLS regular season began. He is well on his way to becoming one of the best in the league. In this season’s first two matches, McKenzie had an 80% success rate in duels versus his opponents. One of those was LAFC, a game which I broadcast. He impressed me throughout the match. He is improving and it is easy to see on the pitch.
An defensive-minded back, he is tough and quick and reads the game in the back very well. He is a smart defender and his positioning has looked very good. I liked how he defended one-on-one and how he cut off trouble before it developed against the Black and Gold in LA. He is definitely a center back I will be keeping an eye on for the future with the U.S. National Team.
McKenzie was the U.S. captain at the U20 World Cup last year. He participated in the full National Team training camp in January of 2019 and received his first cap in a 1-0 friendly win over Costa Rica in February.
There is work to be done for McKenzie as he looks to really cement himself into the backline of the Union and hopefully the U.S. as well and he has all the tools needed to succeed.
Collector’s can find McKenzie’s first trading cards in 2019 Topps MLS. The base card has five colored parallels. He does not, as of yet, have any autographed cards.
Future Watch: Mark McKenzie Rookie Soccer Cards, Philadelphia Union – Stats
| Playing Time | Performance | Per 90 Minutes | Expected | Per 90 Minutes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Age | Squad | Country | Comp | LgRank | MP | Starts | Min | Gls | Ast | PK | PKatt | CrdY | CrdR | Gls | Ast | G+A | G-PK | G+A-PK | xG | npxG | xA | xG | xA | xG+xA | npxG | npxG+xA | Matches |
| 2016 | 16 | Bethlehem | us USA | 3. USL | 25th | 3 | 2 | 111 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |||||||||
| 2017 | 17 | Bethlehem | us USA | 2. USL | 17th | 6 | 6 | 540 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | Matches | ||||||||
| 2018 | 18 | Bethlehem | us USA | 2. USL | 14th | 2 | 2 | 180 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | Matches | ||||||||
| 2018 | 18 | Philadelphia | us USA | 1. MLS | 11th | 19 | 18 | 1,629 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.04 | 0.02 | 0.06 | 0.04 | 0.06 | Matches |
| 2019 | 19 | Bethlehem | us USA | 2. USL Champ | 32nd | 6 | 6 | 540 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | Matches | ||||||||
| 2019 | 19 | Philadelphia | us USA | 1. MLS | 5th | 7 | 6 | 537 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | Matches |
| 2020 | 20 | Philadelphia | us USA | 1. MLS | 20th | 2 | 2 | 180 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.11 | 0.00 | 0.11 | 0.11 | 0.11 | Matches |
| 5 Seasons | 2 Clubs | 2 Leagues | 45 | 42 | 3,717 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.04 | 0.01 | 0.05 | 0.04 | 0.05 | ||||
| Country | Comp | LgRank | MP | Starts | Min | Gls | Ast | PK | PKatt | CrdY | CrdR | Gls | Ast | G+A | G-PK | G+A-PK | xG | npxG | xA | xG | xA | xG+xA | npxG | npxG+xA | Matches | |||
| Bethlehem (4 Seasons) | 1 League | 17 | 16 | 1,371 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |||||||||||||
| Philadelphia (3 Seasons) | 1 League | 28 | 26 | 2,346 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.04 | 0.01 | 0.05 | 0.04 | 0.05 | |||||
| USL Champ (4 Seasons) | 17 | 16 | 1,371 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | ||||||||||||||
| MLS (3 Seasons) | 28 | 26 | 2,346 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.04 | 0.01 | 0.05 | 0.04 | 0.05 | ||||||
Future Watch: Mark McKenzie Rookie Soccer Cards, Philadelphia Union – More Resources
- Mark McKenzie Beckett Catalog
- ESPN.com Player Profile – Mark McKenzie
- Mark McKenzie – Secondary Market Pricing
Future Watch: Mark McKenzie Rookie Soccer Cards, Philadelphia Union – Image Gallery
For more from Dave Denholm, follow him on Twitter @TalkSoccer.
Hosted afternoon sports talk show for two different Los Angeles sports talk stations. Pre/Post game radio host for various sports teams including the Lakers, Clippers, Dodgers, Angels, USC Football and UCLA basketball.
Currently on air at NBC sports radio, ESPN, Total Traffic & Weather Network and Fox sports.
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