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Player profile: Sigma FC's Cyle Larin

By lo admin, 07/08/14, 3:15PM EDT

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Player profile: Sigma FC's Cyle Larin

Tue Jul 8 
Written By: Rollins, Duane
 

It's rare for a player to be capped internationally prior to turning pro, but Cyle Larin is a rare kind of player.

Big and strong, but with the finesse and agility you'd expect from a smaller player, the Sigma Academy product drew the attention of Canadian national team manager Benito Floro this past winter. Now, at just nineteen, Larin already has two senior caps for Canada.

The national team call-up was just the icing on a remarkable year for Larin, which saw him receive national headlines in the United States while scoring fourteen goals as a freshman for the University of Connecticut.

He was widely expected to be a top five pick in last year's MLS SuperDraft until he surprised most observers by opting out to return to UCONN for his sophomore season.

According to Larin, he still has business to finish in college soccer.

"With the talent we have and the recruits we have brought back we all believe we can win a championship - that's what I want."

Everything he's doing now, Larin says, is with that team goal in mind, which includes a return to Sigma Academy to play in League1 this summer.

"It's a great league, with a lot of talent," Larin says. "I look (at playing for Sigma) as a way to improve every game. To work on my touch and to stay fit."

Larin refuses to get bogged down by talk of the 2015 MLS Draft. He says his focus is entirely on the League1 and NCAA season and that "whatever happens, happens" when it comes to the SuperDraft.

But, just because Larin isn't talking about the SuperDraft doesn't mean that others aren't excited by his prospects.

Travis Clark is an editor at TopDrawerSoccer.com. The site is one of the most respected independent evaluators of college soccer players in the United States. According to Clark, there is every chance Larin will be a high selection in 2015.

"Larin is probably in the top two in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft board after his 2013 season," Clark wrote in an email. "His combination of size, touch and decision-making ability continue to reinforce that he is one of the most talented players in division 1 soccer, and he has the tools to be successful in MLS one day."

Before that happens - and before he goes back to UCONN - Larin hopes to give back to Sigma Academy, who is calls vital to his development as a player.

"I've been there since they started," he says. "They have helped me so much with all the great coaches there. 

"Sigma has been huge for me"