COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (Thursday, December 13, 2012) – Colorado Rapids Homegrown Player Shane O’Neill, a 19-year-old midfielder from Boulder, has been selected to join the United States Under-20 National Team for a training camp this month. O’Neill will join the squad, under the direction of head coach Tab Ramos, from December 15-22 in Sunrise, Fla., with a closed-door friendly match against Venezuela on December 21.
“We’re excited that Shane’s hard work has paid off with his selection to the Under-20 National Team,” said Colorado Rapids Technical Director Paul Bravo. “It’s a great honor for him, but also for the club and our academy, and shows that young players in our system are being noticed on a national level.”
MORE: O'Neill becomes first homegrown player to make MLS debut
O’Neill, who made his MLS debut in the 3-0 victory over Portland Timbers on September 5, had previously joined the U.S. U-20’s for the Marbella Cup in Spain from October 6-17 of this year. He earned a start in the 2-1 loss to Canada (playing 65 minutes) before an injury kept him out of the remaining two games of the tournament.
The players and coaches will meet in Florida for a week of training as they prepare for the 2013 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, which runs from February 18 to March 3 in Puebla, Mexico. The United States was drawn into Group A and will face Haiti and Costa Rica in the first phase, and the four semifinalists in the tournament will automatically qualify for the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
U.S. U-20 MNT Roster by Position
GOALKEEPERS (3): Cody Cropper (Southampton FC; Maple Grove, Minn.), Tomas Gomez (Georgetown; Webster Groves, Mo.), Kendall McIntosh (Santa Clara; Santa Rosa, Calif.)
DEFENDERS (6): Dakota Edwards (Maryland; Sayville, N.Y.), Juan Pablo Ocegueda (Unattached; Riverside, Calif.), Boyd Okwuonu (North Carolina; Edmund, Okla.), Shane O’Neill (Colorado Rapids; Boulder, Colo.), Oscar Sorto (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.), Javan Torre (UCLA; Santa Monica, Calif.)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake; Garden Grove, Calif.), Benji Joya (Santos Laguna; San Jose, Calif.), Mikey Lopez (North Carolina; Mission, Texas), Collin Martin (Wake Forest; Chevy Chase, Md.), Daniel Metzger (Maryland; Holmdel, N.J.), Marc Pelosi (Liverpool FC; Sunnyvale, Calif.), Caleb Stanko (SC Freiburg; Holly, Mich.), Wil Trapp (Akron; Gahanna, Ohio)
FORWARDS (7): Brandon Allen (Georgetown; Old Bridge, N.J.), Daniel Cuevas (Santos Laguna; Sacramento, Calif.), Daniel Garcia (North Carolina; Dallas, Texas), Darius Madison (Virginia; Philadelphia, Pa.), Jack McBean (LA Galaxy; Newport Beach, Calif.), Mario Rodriguez (1. FC Kaiserslautern; North Hollywood, Calif.), Jose Villarreal (LA Galaxy; Inglewood, Calif.)
The Rapids have begun to set their 2013 preseason schedule, recently adding a match against Chivas USA on February 15 in Las Vegas as part of the Las Vegas ProSoccer Challenge to their participation in the Desert Friendlies presented by Tucson FC. For more information on the team, or to purchase 2013 season tickets, please visit www.ColoradoRapids.com or call 303-825-GOAL.
