SEE NORTHEAST TOP 20 LISTS

All is well now, but a couple years back it didn’t look as though Cole DeNormandie would be a part of the New England Revolution program. The No. 2 player on the Northeast Region 2011 Top 20, DeNormandie is currently a critical piece of the U17/U18 team, but two years ago that wasn’t the case.

In fact, he wasn’t even on the team - the Revolution cut him.

That experience made him a better player for two reasons: it challenged him, and encouraged him to seek out soccer mentorship from people who know what their talking about.

“A lot of players lose opportunities to improve because they think their coach has nothing to show them,” DeNormandie said. “I’m coachable. If you listen to your coach they can help you make it to the next level.”

DeNormandie, a forward, helped lead his team to the Development Academy Playoffs last season, a stage where he really thrived. He’s headed to Cincinnati next year; I’d say he’s reached that next level.

But DeNormandie isn’t alone there. Other Northeast standouts you’ll find on one of our Top 20 lists include Riley Houle who is No. 3 among the U18 group.

Houle is preparing for her first semester at Connecticut as she’s graduating early.

Other girls’ stars from the list include Sarah McCauley, of Highlanders FC, Kayla Shea and Mikayla Williams, who is trying to help will her Scorpions SC group to the ECNL Championships this year.

“I would do anything for my team,” Williams said. “We’re going to step it up because we always set goals and reach them.”

On the boys’ side, Jimmy Petruccelli is a strong central midfielder who recently committed to Providence.

Diego Fagundez, Samuel Rosen and Zachary Zurita also highlight the collection of Northeast top talent.