MNT Camp Odds & Ends
Clint Dempsey has seven goals in World Cup Qualifying in this cycle and 12 overall, and is now tied for first place on the USA’s all-time list. Dempsey has 32 international goals and is two behind second-place Eric Wynalda on the all-time list.
…..Jozy Altidore scored 31 goals in all competitions for his Dutch team AZ Alkmaar, breaking the single-season record for an American in Europe that was set by Dempsey (23) last year. Altidore became the first U.S. player to be named to the Dutch Eredivisie Team of the Year……Eddie Johnson has 10-career goals in qualifying, tied for second all-time with Brian McBride……Herculez Gomez finished with 11 goals in all competitions for Santos Laguna, having reached the Liga MX semifinals and the CONCACAF Champions League final earlier this year. Gomez potted a pair of goals during the Semifinal Round, including the game-winner against Jamaica on Sept. 11, 2012, in Columbus. Terrence Boyd finished his first season at Rapid Vienna with 15 goals in all competitions…..Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler return after the pair impressed in the scoreless draw against Mexico. In that game, Besler became only the second U.S. player in history to start a World Cup qualifier with fewer than two caps. Besler replaced Clarence Goodson, who stood firm in the 1-0 win against Costa Rica and was subsequently sidelined with a hamstring injury……With two straight clean sheets in March, Brad Guzan now has five shutouts in seven qualifiers in his career, posting a 4-1-2 record. Guzan was voted the Aston Villa Player of the Year by both players and supporters….DaMarcus Beasley is one appearance shy of becoming the 13th player in MNT history to earn 100 caps. He has 28 caps in World Cup qualifying, good for fifth-most on the USA’s all-time list. With his start on March 22 against Costa Rica, Beasley became the eighth MNT player to have appeared in at least one National Team match for 13 consecutive years. Frankie Hejduk (14 straight years) leads list, while six other players have played in a U.S. MNT match for 13 straight years – Marcelo Balboa, Landon Donovan, Cobi Jones, Kasey Keller, Claudio Reyna and Earnie Stewart
U.S. Wins CONCACAF Title
The U.S. Beach Soccer National Team defeated El Salvador 5-4 in extra time to win the 2013 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship at the Malcolm Park Beach Soccer and Futsal Facility. Nick Perera, who led the tournament with a whopping 11 goals, fittingly closed out the title match with the game-winner with 49 seconds remaining in extra time. Perera also scored the game-tying goals with 6:35 remaining in the third period to tie the score at 3-3.
The victory is the USA’s second CONCACAF crown. The USA won the first CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship in 2006 in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. As finalists, the U.S. and El Salvador will represent CONCACAF at the World Cup, which takes place Sept. 18-28, To’ata Stadium in Papeete, Tahiti. The U.S. was coming off a 4-2 victory against Costa Rica on Saturday to qualify for its fourth Beach Soccer World Cup, having previously advanced to the 2005, 2006 and 2007 tournaments.
Along with Perera’s brace on Sunday, U.S. captain Ryan Futagaki also had two goals for the USA, while Lewie Valentin had the USA’s first goal against El Salvador.
U.S. U18s Second In Lisbon
The U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team finished in second place at the Lisbon International Tournament despite a 2-1 loss against Hungary. U.S. forward Rubio Rubin was named Player of the Tournament. Amando Moreno scored the USA’s goal just before halftime to cut Hungary’s lead to 2-1 at intermission.
Andrews Repeats As POY
Morgan Andrews, a member of the U.S. U-20 national team, has been named Gatorade National Player of the Year for the second consecutive year. She is a senior at Milford HS in Milford, NH.
Andrews is the two-time Gatorade State Player of the Year for New Hampshire and was also all-state as a place-kicker for her high school football team. The 5-foot-9 senior forward led the Spartans to a 16-3-1 record and the Division II state title this past season. She scored 31 goals and passed for 18 assists, notching both goals in Milford’s 2-1 win over Souhegan High in the state final.
The 2012 National Soccer Coaches Association of America High School Player of the Year and a three-time NSCAA All-American selection concluded her prep soccer career with 114 goals and 53 assists. She will attend the University of Notre Dame in the fall.
Andrews was a captain on the USA’s Under-17 Women’s World Cup Team last year and is now a member of the U.S. U-20 and U-23 National Team player pools. She finished her U-17 career with 20 caps and two goals and currently has three caps with the U.S. U-20s as they continue preparation for qualifying for the 2014 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Canada.
U.S. U20 WNT To Sweden
The U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team continues its preparation for qualifying for the 2014 FIFA U-120 Women’s World Cup with a trip to Gavle, Sweden, from May 24-June 3.
U.S. U-20 WNT head coach Michelle French has called up 20 players for the trip that will see the USA square off against Sweden’s U-20 Women’s National Team on Friday, May 31 and Sweden’s U-23 Women’s National Team on Sunday, June 2, the same day the U.S. WNT will face Canada in Toronto and the U.S. MNT will face Germany in Washington, D.C. as part of U.S. Soccer’s 100th Anniversary Centennial celebrations.
Both games will be played in Gavle, which is situated on the east coast of Sweden about 125 miles north of Stockholm.
The roster consists of eight collegiate players and one professional in 18-year-old Lindsey Horan, who is finishing up her first season with Paris Saint-Germain in the French First Division. With two games left to play, the teenager from outside of Denver, Colorado has scored 17 goals, putting her sixth in the league in scoring.
U.S. U-15 MNT Italy Roster
Goalkeepers (2): Jane Campbell (Concorde Fire SC; Kennesaw, Ga.), Morgan Stearns (McLean Youth Soccer; San Antonio, Texas),. Defenders (7): Mandy Freeman (Orlando City; Royal Palm Beach, Fla.), Hanna Gardner (UNC; Chapel Hill, N.C.), Laura Liedle (Stanford; San Diego, Calif.), Kayla Mills (Slammers FC; West Covina, Calif.), Karlie Mueller (Texas A&M; Sioux Falls, S.D.), Katie Naughton (Notre Dame; Arlington Heights, Ill.), Cari Roccaro (Notre Dame; East Islip, N.Y.) Midfielders (5): Summer Green (UNC; Milford, Mich.), Rose Lavelle (Cincinnati United; Cincinnati, Ohio), Andi Sullivan (Bethesda SC; Lorton, Va.), Danielle Weatherholt (Santa Clara; Capistrano Beach, Calif.), Allison Wetherington (Concorde Fire SC; Acworth, Ga.). Forwards (6): Janine Beckie (Real Colorado; Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Makenzy Doniak (Virginia; Chino Hills, Calif.), Lindsey Horan (PSG; Golden, Colo.), Amber Munerlyn (SoCal Blues; Corona, Calif.), Toni Payne (Concorde Fire SC; Birmingham, Ala.), Margaret Purce (Freestate; Silver Springs, Md.)
U.S. WNT Odds & Ends
The USA’s quartet of forwards on the roster for the upcoming game with Canada – Alex Morgan, Abby Wambach, Christen Press and Sydney Leroux – has scored 15 of the USA’s 24 goals so far in 2013, led by Press with a team-high six goals…… The U.S. will be without 186-capped midfielder Shannon Boxx, who is recovering from minor knee surgey….The match in Canada will feature the world’s top two active scorers in Wambach (155 career goals) and Canadian striker Christine Sinclair (145).
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