Houston Dynamo's Clark, De Rosario named to All-Star First XI

HOUSTON, TX - The Houston Dynamo will be well represented in this year's Sierra Mist All-Star Game, as both Ricardo Clark and Dwayne De Rosario have been selected as members of the All-Star First XI, it was announced today.

Their selection means that both players will play a part against Scottish Premier League Champions Celtic FC at the 2007 Sierra Mist All-Star game, which will be played on Thursday, July 19, at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, CO. While De Rosario will be on hand tonight as the Dynamo take on Red Bull New York (7:00 p.m. CT, TV: ESPN2; Radio: 790 AM, 850 AM and 101.7 FM), Clark is in Venezuela, where the U.S. Men's National Team takes on Colombia tonight (5:35 p.m. CT; TV: Telefutura).

"I feel honored to be selected again to participate in the MLS All-Star Game," said De Rosario, who last year was selected the MVP of the event after scoring MLS' winning goal against Chelsea. "I look forward to helping the MLS side win its second consecutive game against one of Scotland's and Europe's most storied franchises."

"For me, my selection comes as confirmation that our team is doing well, and that I'm performing at a good level in my position," said Clark, who has earned his second-straight All-Star selection, from Barquisimeto, Venezuela. "MLS has a lot of talent participating in this game. I think we're going to do very well against Celtic."

An important part of the U.S. Men's National Team since head Coach Bob Bradley took over, Clark has been away since June 4, a day after helping the Dynamo beat FC Dallas 2-1 at Robertson Stadium, playing first in Gold Cup, and now at Copa America. Thus far at Copa America, Clark has scored one goal, which came in a 3-1 loss against Paraguay on Monday. The Dynamo will have Clark back on the team after tonight, when the US plays its final game against Colombia.

De Rosario was also a very important part of the Canadian National Team, as it was knocked out in the Gold Cup semifinals by the US, the eventual champion of the tournament. During Gold Cup, De Rosario was able to score three goals, two against Haiti in the first round, and one against Guatemala in the Semifinals. He was the second-leading vote getter for this year's All-Star Game; only Red Bull New York's Juan Pablo Angel surpassed De Rosario.

"It's great that they were both selected to be on the First XI," said Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear. "I feel very happy for them, and think that their selection is well-deserved. I'm also proud of the fact that we'll be represented in this year's All-Star Game."

Tickets for tonight's doubleheader between the Dynamo and Red Bull New York, CD Chivas Guadalajara and CD Motagua, are still available. For tickets, please call the Houston Dynamo offices at 713-276-7500, log on to www.houstondynamo.com, or visit any Fiesta Supermarket or Ticketmaster outlet.

MLS First XI

Goalkeeper: Matt Reis (New England Revolution)
Defenders: Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution)
Midfielders: Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Dwayne De Rosario (Houston Dynamo), Christian Gomez (D.C. United), Shalrie Joseph (New England Revolution), Juan Carlos Toja (FC Dallas)
Forwards: Juan Pablo Angel (Red Bull New York), Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards)

With each voting category counting for a quarter of the total votes, the formula used for determining the First XI involved assigning 25 total points to each category for a possible total of 100 points. Therefore, if a player received 50 percent of the votes in any category, he would earn 12.5 points for that category. The voting totals were as follows.