“This kid has grown up in front of me,” said Cruz who, at 32, isn’t far removed from his own playing days when he lined up for MLS sides D.C. United and Houston Dynamo – and lost a dramatic Open Cup final with the Philadelphia Union in 2014. “I don’t care how old anybody is. If that player is performing in training, in games, then they’re going to get their opportunity.
Wynder’s skill-set is deep. He’s strong in the air and a born competitor who revels in a big block or a hard tackle. “It just gets me going,” said the defender who started out in his youth as a striker.
But it’s his poise on the ball that Cruz admires most – a rare attribute for so young a player.
“He’s just playing so far ahead of his years,” added Cruz, who only put Wynder so deep in the penalty-taker list against St Louis City because the youngster was suffering from a “double cramp” toward the end of the game. “I”m glad people are noticing what we’ve known here for years.”
Wynder followed his brother, Elijah – older by two years, into the club’s first team in 2021. He signed his first professional contract after several seasons in the Lou City Academy — and years before that in local affiliate Elite FC Louisville. He’s getting to the end of his junior year in high school (he’s home-schooled by his mom) and very much focussed on the opportunity he’s earned.
Wynder’s looking about as comfortable as can be in a team that’s sitting pretty atop the USL Championship standings and now facing a date in the Open Cup Round of 16 against Major League Soccer side Nashville SC.
“We try to make practice harder than the games,” said Brian Ownby, Lou City’s explosive winger and, at 31, one of a core of experienced campaigners who help guide young ones like Wynder along the path to solid pro status. “It was really good to see in those [younger] players the fight you need to have to the very end in a tournament like the Open Cup.”
