FRISCO - The path to success is littered with its own peaks and valleys, something that Jonathan Top has learned first-hand this season.
The 21-year-old returned to FC Dallas last week after spending the 2014 season on loan at newly-formed USL Pro side Arizona United SC. While Top had previously played four MLS games with FCD plus a couple dozen Reserve League matches, this summer spent in Arizona was, for all intents and purposes, Top’s first taste of week-in, week-out professional soccer.
“I think it was a very good experience for me going out to Arizona. That league’s not easy for me to play by any means,” said Top. “Sometimes you have back-to-back games and the travel and you can travel Wednesday, play Thursday, travel Friday and play Saturday. Those stretches get hard and that’s when the character of the group is tested.”
For Top and Arizona United SC, testing character would be a theme throughout the season starting from the first week. A relatively hastily arranged team only began training just eight days before their first USL Pro match against fellow debutants OKC Energy FC. Playing their first home match in front of nearly 3,000, United was humbled to a 4-0 defeat.
“We had exactly one week and one day from when the team had its first organized training together before our opening game against Oklahoma City,” said Top. “That first game, things were flying. I thought I’d be able to cruise through it, but things started flying right away from the first minute and by then it’s too late. You have to prepare the whole week for your match.”
Top scored vs SRFC
Following with the peaks and valleys theme, however, Top and Arizona would score a confidence-building 2-1 win over Sacramento Republic FC the next weekend, with Top scoring the game-winner in the 86th minute.
“By the next week, we had [been together] and ended up beating one of the best teams in Sacramento. We beat them and that gave us a lot of confidence.”
The next valley wasn’t far off. The following week, Top flew back to Dallas for a Tuesday FC Dallas reserve game against Orlando City SC. Top played 80 minutes in that match before flying back to Arizona for a Friday match against LA Galaxy II.
“Sometimes it is too much for your body to take,” said Top. “I was immature and thought I could play [against LA] and told my coach I could play when my body really wasn’t ready. I paid the price and pulled my hamstring.”
Indeed Top came off after 58 minutes against LA Galaxy II and just when his season seemed to be taking off, the Fort Worth-native was sidelined for nearly a month with the hamstring injury. While in some ways the injury was a negative, it turned out to be a learning experience for the young forward that he will take with him for the rest of his career.
“Coming back from the injury and coach sitting me out for a while with the injury and seeing the team do well and being on the outside looking in to where you were at and realizing guys are taking my spot and doing better than me, I think that was the key moment for me to really turn my season around,” said Top. “Thank God I did and from there things started to gel together.”
Top's goal of the month
It took some time for Top to work his way back into the lineup, but eventually he did and eventually the team that got walloped in the first game of the season became the team that was dishing out the punishment. United got revenge against the OKC Energy in the third round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup and gave the LA Galaxy all they could handle in the fourth round, falling 2-1.
The league results turned around and with Top starting five of the last six matches of the season, Arizona United staged a furious rally at the 2014 playoffs. Arizona won four of the last five regular season games with Top scoring two goals and two assists in those four games including the August USL Pro goal of the month. They’d end up falling four points short of the playoffs, but certainly created a solid foundation for next season.
“We had a decent season, I think we should’ve made playoffs,” said Top. “Every team was scared to play against us [at the end].”
Top ended the campaign tied for the team lead in goals with five and finished eighth on the team with 21 appearances. In reality though, his summer in Phoenix was about much more than just on-field stats.
“On a personal level, it was probably the best decision for me at this point in my career going out there learning really what it is to be a professional and realizing that when we come from the Academy it’s a game and you come here and you’re kind of still in that mindset and don’t really realize until things start getting rough for you,” said the 21-year-old. “It took me a while unfortunately, but being out there I learned at the end of the day this is my job and I’m expected to perform for the team wherever I’m at. I think that’s what it helped me with the most was maturing as a person more than anything, having to learn to fight for yourself.”
While one season is over for Top, another is very much alive. FC Dallas has six games left in the MLS regular season as they march towards the playoffs and Top is back in training doing everything in his power to make as big of an impact on those six games as he can.
“That’s up to him. Really that’s up to him,” said Pareja on Top’s chances of making a gameday roster. “He has the capacity and that’s up to the player. He needs to prove every day, challenge the position every day and on Friday we choose the team. That’s for him and for everyone else.”
Regardless of how the remaining six weeks of the season shakes out, one thing is for sure: Top speaks with a new-found maturity and knowledge gained from his first extended time away from the FC Dallas team that he’s been with for practically half his soccer life.
“Up to now I do think it’s been a successful year for me but that’s all in the past now and I’m here now and looking forward,” said Top. “Personally, I kind of take it as two different seasons in a way but like I said it’s in the past and right now it’s all about these six games we have left. You look behind and you get comfortable, but if somebody else comes tomorrow and they’re doing your job, what you did in the past doesn’t matter.”
Having learned from his valleys, perhaps a few more peaks are ahead.
“Coming back, I knew things [wouldn't] be any easier than [before] I left, but I’m ready for that.”
