Powers was named the Milk Cup's most valuable player, but he wasn't the only one who impressed. Others included:
• Gale Agbossoumonde: The 6-foot-2 center back captained the team and scored the first goal in the final. With his size and composure on the ball (honed at S.C. Braga in Portugal), he may be the surest bet to suit up for the senior national team one day.
"Bob [Bradley] and I talk and I told him that [Agbossoumonde] has special qualities," Rongen said. "He's almost too comfortable playing the ball out of the back, always looking for people in a forward position, but that is easier to break than trying to teach technical ability."
Agbossoumonde, like Powers, was on the 2007 U-20 World Cup team but was young and played sparingly. "Now, he has become a pro," Rongen said.
• Alex Molano: If there was a breakout performer for the U.S., it was Molano, an attacking midfielder who plays for NK Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia. "Up the middle we had two center backs [Agbossoumonde and Akron's Perry Kitchen] comfortable starting the attack out of the back, connecting with Powers and then Molano, who gives us elements tactically and physically of that traditional No. 10 passer," Rongen said. "We were pleased with what we saw from him."