In retrospect, at least Orange County SC’s Juan Santana had a couple of days to prepare.

When it became evident that starting goalkeeper Colin Shutler was not going to be available for selection this past Saturday night for his side’s visit to Sacramento Republic FC, it opened the door for the 18-year-old to make his First Team debut.

Still, how well can you prepare a young talent for a game against the current Western Conference leaders in front of a crowd of more than 20,000 fans?

As it turns out, well enough.

Santana shone in the spotlight, recording a three-save shutout that included a pair of sharp second-half denials of Republic FC’s leading scorer Russell Cicerone and Guadeloupe international Luther Archimede to help the visitors hold onto a one-goal lead before OCSC bagged a second to seal a 2-0 victory with six minutes to go.

Orange County has never been a club afraid to give young players opportunities. The club’s ethos of competing for titles paired with offering a pathway to top European clubs can be seen in the successes this season of United States U-20 international forward Korede Osundina and U-17 international Bryce Jamison, and last year’s move of Kobi Henry to Ligue 1 club Stade de Reims in France after the center back had earned his first senior United States Men’s National Team call-up late in 2021 while with OCSC.

As it happened, Santana’s shutout didn’t set a club record for the youngest goalkeeper to post a clean sheet – that’s still Aaron Cervantes, who ranks third all-time in league history. Santana comes in at No. 9 on the list of the youngest goalkeepers to record a shutout in the USL Championship’s history overall.

There is one thing that Santana has on those above him, though. He’s the youngest goalkeeper to record a shutout in his first USL Championship appearance, with the potential for many more to come.

Here are some of the other young players who caught our eye over the past week…

Daniel Rios, Las Vegas Lights FC – It wasn’t quite enough to earn Lights FC a result, but the 20-year-old El Salvadoran scored his first two professional goals against Phoenix Rising FC in his first start this month.

Elijah Wynder, Louisville City FC – The 20-year-old put in another solid two-way performance playing in a midfield trio, completing 17 of 19 passes and notching a pair of shots while winning 3 of 4 tackles and 8 of 12 duels.

Diba Nwegbo, Birmingham Legion FC – The 21-year-old continues to grow into his role on the left flank for Birmingham and picked up his first assist in the professional ranks last Wednesday night against FC Tulsa.

Erik McCue, El Paso Locomotive FC – The 22-year-old helped snap El Paso’s winless run with a strong defensive display against Hartford Athletic, recording seven clearances and three blocks while completing 30 of 33 passes and winning 3 of 3 tackles and 6 of 8 overall duels.

Nathan Worth, FC Tulsa – The 16-year-old got his first two starts for Tulsa this week and went all 180 minutes while completing 126 of 149 passes and winning 7 of 12 duels.