The future is now for Ricardo Pepi and FC Dallas.
Pepi, who signed his MLS contract with Dallas on Friday, made his league debut for the club in their 3-0 win over Toronto FC on Saturday. The 16-year-old earned two starts for Dallas in the U.S. Open Cup over the last two weeks.
Just six months ago Pepi burst onto the collective MLS radar, signing as North Texas SC's first ever player as a 15-year-old. He made his USL League One debut with a hat trick in the club's first game.
All in all, Pepi had seven goals in six games for the Dallas affiliate.
"In the short time he played he stole two or three balls against good players that that's not easy to do," FC Dallas head coach Luchi Gonzalez said of Pepi's MLS debut after the match. "He's taking his steps and he's earning what he gets. These guys are earning what they get...So there's no charity here."
