Herzog calls 20 players for first domestic U-23 MNT camp of 2015

CHICAGO (Via U.S. Soccer) – U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team head coach Andi Herzog has called 20 players to Carson, California, for the U-23’s first domestic training camp of 2015 as the team continues its preparations for qualifying for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

The team will train from April 19-21 and then face Mexico’s U-23 National Team on Wed., April 22 at StubHub Center in Carson. The match will be broadcast live at 8 p.m. PT on UniMás and Univision Deportes Network.

“It’s a beautiful stadium and this is a huge rivalry,” head coach Andi Herzog said. “We had this experience with the senior team last week and it was a great atmosphere. For these players, it’s a huge opportunity and we want to see them make the most of it.”

This roster is charged with experience as nine of its players were part of the USA’s 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup Team and 11 participated in the U.S. U-23 camp in Europe this past March.

Roster By Position: Detailed Roster
GOALKEEPERS (2): Cody Cropper (Southampton; Maple Grove, Minn.), Jon Kempin (San Antonio Scorpions; Leawood, Kan.)
DEFENDERS (8): Christian Dean (Vancouver Whitecaps; East Palo Alto, Calif.), Juan Pablo Ocegueda (Alebrijes de Oaxaca; Riverside, Calif.), Boyd Okwuonu (Real Salt Lake; Edmund, Okla.), Shane O’Neill (Colorado Rapids; Boulder, Colo.), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids; Brighton, Colo.), Oscar Sorto (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif), Sam Strong (UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, Calif.), Walker Zimmerman (FC Dallas; Lawrenceville, Ga.)
MIDFIELDERS (5): Fatai Alashe (San Jose Earthquakes; Northville, Mich.), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake; Garden Grove, Calif.), Alejandro Guido (Club Tijuana; Chula Vista, Calif.), Benji Joya (Santos Laguna; San Jose, Calif.), Daniel Metzger (New York Red Bulls II; Holmdel, N.J.)
FORWARDS (5): Alonso Hernandez (C.F. Monterrey; El Paso, Texas), Alfred Koroma Shams (Unattached; Southlake Carol, Texas), Jordan Morris (Stanford; Mercer Island, Wash.), Mario Rodriguez (Borussia Mönchengladbach; North Hollywood, Calif.), Jose Villarreal (LA Galaxy; Inglewood, Calif.)

Roster Notes:

• Nine players were a part of the USA’s 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup team: Cody Cropper, Luis Gil, Alonso Hernandez, Benji Joya, Juan Pablo Ocegueda, Shane O’Neill, Mario Rodriguez, Oscar Sorto and Jose Villarreal.
• Jordan Morris made his first start and scored his first international goal with the senior MNT during the U.S. Men’s National Team’s 2-0 win against Mexico on April 15.
• Eleven players from this roster were on the squad that defeated Bosnia’s U-23 team 5-2 on March 27, including all five U.S. goal scorers from that game: Fatai Alashe, Morris, Rodriguez, Joya and Hernandez. Other players returning from that roster are Christian Dean, Ocegueda, O’Neill, Sorto, Gil, and Alfred Koroma Shams.
• In addition to Gil captaining the USA during the win against Bosnia, he also assisted on three of the five tallies.
• Cropper, Dean, Gil, Kempin, Morris, O’Neill, Serna and Sorto have all been part of a USMNT senior camp this year.
• Gil and Morris are the only two players from the roster to have earned a cap with the senior team in 2015.
• MLS has sent nine players for this roster with two players each from the Colorado Rapids, LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake.
• Four players on the roster play for Mexican-based clubs (Three from Liga MX and one from Ascenso MX).
• The 2015 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying championship will be played in the United States from Oct.1-13