I have no clue how Onofre flew under the radar, given how loud his game was this summer and the fact that he plays for two teams that are no stranger to the national spotlight. Leading Edge put the clamps on the opposition all summer, and Onofre was one of those guys who set the tone up top. Highlighted as a shorty who turned heads at the Nike National All-Star Games, he closed the summer out with a bang. He may not have the offensive ability that some other ’28 shorties have, but Onofre does his job, to say the least: he prevents dodging midfielders from getting to where they want to go, and does so with authority. He has tremendous footwork and runs the field with the best of them, with his effort unquestioned at all times. Onofre will hit you with a crowbar or wrap check that puts the ball on the ground and draws reactions from the sideline, too. Overall, he’s a blue-collar kid whose presence will be welcomed in the Ivy League.

When I first watched Onofre back in the fall, I viewed him as one of those shortstick defensive midfielders who can almost blend into the background — the type of player you don’t notice until you realize how many plays he’s quietly impacting. His game speaks a bit more loudly now, and he’s playing with more confidence than ever. Playing with a Team New Jersey that was almost entirely comprised of Leading Edge guys, Onofre turned in another excellent campaign to cap off his summer, and his nearly 11-minute (!!!) highlight reel shows just how impactful he was over the last six or so weeks. While I love Onofre’s work near the top restraining line, I’ve also been struck by how he passes the test when covering the ball below the goal line, which can’t always be said about top shortsticks. He plays with controlled aggression and ever-present physicality, bulldozing dudes in the clear, preventing rollbacks by maintaining contact and pushing middies away from where they want to go, and harassing offensive weapons that are much bigger than him. By my estimation, he’ll have no shortage of suitors this fall, and he solidified his standing with a great few days in Edgewood.