The US Under-17 national team has included 11 players with MLS ties among the 28 players named to the roster for the spring semester of the U.S. Soccer Residency Program in Bradenton, Florida.
Head coach Richie Williams announced the squad, which includes FC Dallas Homegrown forward Alejandro Zendejas (pictured above) and 10 additional players from Major League Soccer youth programs or affiliates, on Tuesday. The US are preparing for the CONCACAF U-17 Championship, to be played Feb. 27-March 15 in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. The top four teams will qualify for the 2015 U-17 World Cup, which is set to take place Oct. 17-Nov. 8 in Chile.
Zendejas was signed as a Homegrown Player on Oct. 1, 2014, while the roster also includes LA Galaxy II goalkeeper Eric Lopez, who became the youngest player ever to sign a USL PRO contract on Nov. 3, 2014, aged 15. Joining Lopez in the goalkeeper pool is Richmond United goalkeeper Will Pulisic, who signed an amateur contract with USL PRO's Richmond Kickers last year but did not make an appearance.
“This is an important semester for us and an important year for this cycle,” Williams said in a U.S. Soccer statement. “With World Cup qualifying at the beginning of March, it will be important for us to continue training well and performing well. We also need to find a balance with this group and some of the players who are not with us on a regular basis to form a 20-man roster that will head to qualifying to compete and get results.”
Players from MLS academies named to the roster include defenders Tyler Adams and Matt Olosunde from the New York Red Bulls, Hugo Arellano from the LA Galaxy, Tanner Dieterich from Real Salt Lake's Arizona residency program and Nikkye De Point from New England affiliate Revolution Empire in upstate New York; midfielders George Braima from Columbus Crew SC and Giuseppe Barone from Crew affiliate CSA Wolves in Michigan; and forwards Pierre Da Silva from Orlando City and Elvir Ibisevic from Kansas City affiliate Sporting Iowa.
US U-17 Roster by Position:
Goalkeepers (3):Eric Lopez (LA Galaxy II; Westminster, Calif.), Will Pulisic (Richmond United; Mechanicsville, Va.), Kevin Silva (PDA; Bethlehem, Pa.)
Defenders (9):Tyler Adams (New York Red Bulls Academy; Wappingers Falls, N.Y.), Hugo Arellano (LA Galaxy Academy; Norwalk, Calif.), Matthew Constant (Dallas Texans; Carrollton, Texas), Nikkye De Point (Revolution Empire; Rochester, N.Y.), Tanner Dieterich (Real Salt Lake-Arizona; Nashville, Tenn.), John Nelson (Internationals; Medina, Ohio), Matthew Olosunde (New York Red Bulls Academy; Trenton, N.J.), Logan Panchot (St. Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri; St. Louis, Mo.), Alexis Velela (San Diego Surf; San Diego, Calif.)
Midfielders (8):Giuseppe Barone (Crew SC Academy Wolves; Grandville, Mich.), George Braima (Columbus Crew SC Academy; Columbus, Ohio), Eric Calvillo (Real So Cal; Palmdale, Calif.), Keegan Kelly (Baltimore Celtic; Baltimore, Md.), Thomas McCabe (PDA; South Orange, N.J.), Luka Prpa (Chicago Magic; Wind Lake, Wisc.), Nick Taitague (Richmond United; Midlothian, Va.), Alejandro Zendejas (FC Dallas; El Paso, Texas)
Forwards (8):Pierre Da Silva (Orlando City; Port Chester, N.Y.), Lucas Del Rosario (Capital Area RailHawks; Durham, N.C.), McKinzie Gaines (Lonestar SC; Austin, Texas), Joe Gallardo (CF Monterrey; San Diego, Calif.), Elvir Ibisevic (Sporting Iowa; Urbandale, Iowa), Eric Matzelevich (Bethesda-Olney; Washington, D.C.), Josh Perez (unattached; La Habra, Calif.), Elijah Rice (Chicago Magic; Highland Park, Ill.)
