Richie Williams names 21-player U.S. U-17 Men’s National Team roster for two-game trip to California

U.S. U-17 Men’s National Team head coach Richie Williams has named 21 players to the travel roster for a five-day training camp at U.S. Soccer’s National Training Center at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. The U.S. will play two matches during the camp, facing the LA Galaxy on Friday, Feb. 1, and Nike’s The Chance Team on Monday, Feb. 4.

All of the players on the roster are part of the U.S. U-17 Residency Program in Bradenton, Fla. Four players – Justen Glad, Nathan Kohl, Erik Palmer-Brown and Caleb Smith – are new to the Residency Program in the Spring Semester and are seeking their first cap with the U-17 Men’s National Team. All other players have been part of Residency for at least one semester.

Sixteen players on the roster have ties to the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, with 15 players currently registered with an Academy club.

The highlight of the camp will be the U.S. game against Nike’s The Chance Team, which is comprised of 16 players from around the world who participated in Nike’s The Chance in 2012. More than 100,000 players from 55 countries participated in The Chance, with 100 traveling to Barcelona, Spain.

After a week training at FC Barcelona’s youth academy, 16 players were selected for a six-week global training tour, including Brian Iloski, who was part of the Academy Select U-17/18 Blue Team at the 2012 Development Academy Winter Showcase.

The U.S. U-17 MNT is preparing for the 2013 CONCACAF U-17 Championship, which takes place April 6-19 in Panama. The U.S. will be joined in Panama by the hosts, as well as by Barbados, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico and Trinidad & Tobago.

U.S. U-17 Men’s National Team Roster by Position
GOALKEEPERS (2): Jeff Caldwell (NC Fusion; Todd, N.C.), Paul Christensen (Seattle Sounders; Woodinville, Wash.)
DEFENDERS (8): Conor Donovan (NC Alliance; Fuquay Varina, N.C.), Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake Academy; Tucson, Ariz.), Elijah Martin (Unattached; Fresno, Calif.), Shaquell Moore (Unattached; Powder Springs, Ga.), Erik Palmer-Brown (Sporting Kansas City; Lee’s Summitt, Mo.), Tommy Redding (FC America Premier; Oviedo, Fla.), John Requejo Jr. (Real So Cal; Carpinteria, Calif.), Caleb Smith (Solar Chelsea SC; Arlington, Texas)
MIDFIELDERS (5): Corey Baird (San Diego Surf; Escondido, Calif.), Junior Flores (Unattached; Manassas Park, Va.), Angel Heredia (San Jose Earthquakes; San Jose, Calif.), Christopher Lema (New York Red Bulls; Ridgefield, N.J.), Ben Swanson (Crew Soccer Academy; Grove City, Ohio)
FORWARDS (6): Bradford Jamieson (Chivas USA; Los Angeles, Calif.), Nathan Kohl (Crew Soccer Academy; Hilliard, Ohio), Rubio Rubin (unattached; Beaverton, Ore.), Ahinga Selemani (CSA Wolves; Ann Arbor, Mich.), Wesley Wade (New York Red Bulls; South Orange, N.J.), Alan Winn (Solar Chelsea FC; Garland, Texas)