SANDY, UTAH - Real Salt Lake MF Jean Alexandre today was named to the Haitian National Team that will play in an international friendly against Jamaica this Saturday, May 23, at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Alexandre will depart Salt Lake City on Thursday for his home state of Florida to meet up with "Les Grenadiers," taking leave from his MLS club duties this weekend, when Real Salt Lake will head east to take on Eastern Conference co-leader D.C. United. Though the match is termed as a "friendly," there is plenty of rivalry between the Caribbean soccer teams, with the 5:30 p.m. MT (7:30 local) kickoff in south Florida expected to draw a large crowd of supporters for both squads.
"It's a great honor," said Alexandre. "There are a lot of players who would love to play for their country, and I get the opportunity to do that, so I'm grateful."
Alexandre will be looking to make his fourth appearance for the Haitian team on Saturday. The 22-year-old made his first appearance with the full Haitian National Team last summer, making his official international debut in the starting line-up during a friendly against Honduras at the Estadio Nilmo Edwards in La Ceiba, Honduras, on June 7, 2008. The Lynn University product would be the only collegiate player to train with country's senior squad through the summer and later appeared for Haiti in a home-and-away series of friendlies against Trinidad & Tobago, coming off the bench for both contests in early August.
"We are excited and encouraged that Jean has been called into Haiti's team again," said RSL General Manager Garth Lagerwey. "Although he hasn't received a lot of first team minutes he has trained hard and continues to improve as a player. This is a terrific opportunity for him to play in a high level match and prove himself as a real option for Haiti's Gold Cup team this summer."
