As 4-0-2 FC Tucson heads into the meaty part of its schedule, with four PDL matches in the next 16 days — including Sunday’s 7:30 p.m. tilt with the OC Blues U23 — the end is coming near for Aaron Herrera.
The star defender knew his time in Tucson would be brief, as a hoped-for call-up from the United States U-20 team recently came to fruition, but he braved the scorching heat anyways, just for a chance to train with Rick Schantz’s talented team.
Most people treat Tucson in the summer like they’re trying to take a cast-iron skillet out of the oven. Just touch a door handle — briefly, hopefully — and you’d get it. But Herrera, who plays college soccer for at New Mexico, considers his roughly eight-week sojourn into the desert to be a good thing. He leaves for training with the U-20 team on June 26.
“Practices have been really good — all the players (general manager Jon Pearlman) and Rick brought in are high-caliber players,” Herrera said. “Training is really competitive, and players are fighting for spots. We have a solid 25, 26 players competing week in and week out.”
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Herrera needed to maximize his time in town as the future is immensely bright for the Lobos defender, who played in 15 game, with 14 starts, as a true freshman. Top Drawer Soccer tabbed him as the top freshman defender in the country, and with previous national team experience — he attended the USA U18 training camp in 2014 and he spent three years on Major League Soccer’s Real Salt Lake Academy — he could find himself competing for a World Cup roster spot at some point.
“This is all to prepare for World Cup qualifiers in February-March, and eventually for the World Cup next summer,” Herrera said. “Coach Rick was definitely cool with me coming for a short time. It was a great way to keep playing, and to keep playing in games.”
Schantz and Pearlman’s reputation for acquiring talent helped draw Herrera to Tucson, but the team’s premier facilities sealed the deal.
“I’ve been here before, but just for scrimmages, so I knew the facilities were very nice,” he said. “Probably one of the best in the country. It’s benefited me a lot.”
Depending on his future opportunities, he could see himself returning to Tucson, though he could be plenty busy next summer.
“If the chance is open, I could definitely come back,” he said.
