Quakes' academy star Angel Heredia has been named to the U.S. U-17 Men’s National Team by head coach Richie Williams ahead of two games held at The Home Depot Center in the first week of February.
Heredia is one of 21 players named to the travel roster ahead of a five-day training camp that will culminate with matches against the LA Galaxy on Friday, Feb. 1 and Nike's The Chance Team on Monday, Feb. 4.
Heredia is no stranger to playing with the U.S. U-17 MNT as he has displayed his precocious abilities with the youth national team on multiple occassions. In 2011, Heredia captained the U-17's against international competition, playing the likes of Spain, Holland, Russia, and Peru. The news of the call-up comes as no surprise to Heredia who recently was one of 31 players named to the U.S. U-17 Residency program.
While Heredia may face Quakes' historic rival the LA Galaxy, he will also compete against Nike's The Chance Team - comprised of 16 players scouted from across the globe aiming to acheive their dream of professional soccer. Nike's The Chance Team drew more than 100,000 players from 55 countries.
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)
