[nas] FW: U.S. U23 roster named

> From the U.S. Soccer Communications Center:
> 
> MYERNICK NAMES 25-PLAYER U.S. UNDER-23 ROSTER FOR
> TWO-WEEK CAMP LEADING UP TO FINAL OLYMPIC QUALIFYING
> Carson, Calif., Camp is Last Before Heading to Guadalajara for Tournament
> in February; Conor Casey to Appear in First Camp Since 2000 Olympics;
> Donovan, Beasley Back in U-23 Fold After Meeting in MLS Cup at H.D.C
> 
> CHICAGO (December 30, 2003) -- U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team
> head coach Glenn "Mooch" Myernick today announced a 25-player roster for
> a two-week training camp at the National Training Center in Carson,
> Calif., that will mark the team's final preparation before heading down
> to Guadalajara, Mexico for the final round of the CONCACAF Olympic
> Qualifying Tournament from Feb. 2-12, 2004.
> "I'm really looking forward to this camp because it's the very
> first time that we have what we believe is the pick of the pool
> together," said Myernick, who led the team to an undefeated
> international record of 4-0-2 and overall record of 5-1-3 in 2003. "It's
> been two years since we first got together, so we're excited about this
> (full camp). I believe at one point the pool was 42 names, but now we're
> inviting 25 players, of which we can pick 20 for Mexico. The fastest way
> to build this team is just to play together."
> The strongest group of players to be assembled since the first
> U-23 camp in January 2002, the roster is led by U.S. Men's National Team
> and 2002 World Cup stars Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley, who last
> played for the U-23s in a 3-1 win over Mexico in Guadalajara back on May
> 14. The former U-17 and U-20 teammates faced off against each other in
> Carson just over a month ago, with San Jose topping Chicago 4-2 for the
> 2003 MLS Cup title.
> Donovan was a key member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic Team that
> exceeded expectations and advanced to the medal round and a record
> fourth-place finish in Sydney. The 21-year-old San Jose Earthquakes
> forward, who was just 18 at the time, scored the clinching goal in the
> 88th minute of a 3-1 win over Kuwait that helped the U.S. not only
> advance to the second round for the first time in history, but win Group
> C with a 1-0-2 record. Earlier that year, Beasley was a part of the U.S.
> team that posted a 2-1-1 record and finished second at the 2000 Olympic
> Qualifying Tournament in Hershey, Penn., earning one of two CONCACAF
> berths for the Olympics.
> The roster includes another veteran of the 2000 Under-23 squad
> in German-based forward Conor Casey, who will be making his first
> appearance with the team since the 2000 Olympics. Then just a sophomore
> at the University of Portland for U-23 head coach Clive Charles, the
> 6'2" striker was an enormous presence up top throughout the competition.
> Since then, he's been competing professionally in Germany, where he
> scored four goals in FC Karlsruher's final seven games before the winter
> break, giving him six on the season.
> In addition to veteran forwards Casey and Donovan, the camp also
> boasts the team's three leading scorers in 2003 in forwards David Testo
> (Richmond Kickers - USL), Edson Buddle (Columbus Crew) and Alecko
> Eskandarian (D.C. United). Testo, who earned A-League Rookie of the Year
> honors with six goals and two assists, led the team with eight points (3
> g, 2 a), including two goals and an assist in the team's 4-0 win over
> St. Kitts & Nevis on Nov. 19. Buddle, who finished 11th in MLS scoring
> with 10 goals and four assists, finished second on the U-23s with seven
> points (3 g, 1 a), including two goals in the team's 6-0 win over St.
> Kitts & Nevis on Nov. 15. Eskandarian, the 2003 MLS SuperDraft #1 pick,
> finished third on the team with six points (2 g, 2 a).
> The roster also features the return of defender Jose Burciaga,
> Jr., who has recovered from the second of two severe knee injuries that
> forced him to miss most of his third and all of his second season with
> the Kansas City Wizards.  Before his injury in 2003, he played in five
> matches for the U.S. U-23s, helping the team to a 1-1-1 record in a trio
> of exhibitions against reserve teams from Portugal's first division and
> draws against Russia and Portugal at the at the Vale de Tejo Tournament.
> Continuing to pull double duty for U.S. Youth National Teams,
> midfielders Ricardo Clark (MetroStars) and Bobby Convey (D.C. United)
> and forward Ed Johnson (Dallas Burn) rejoin the U-23s after spending the
> end of the year with the U.S. Under-20s, helping them to an impressive
> fifth place finish at the FIFA World Youth Championship in the United
> Arab Emirates. Johnson led the U-20s in scoring at UAE '03, becoming the
> first U.S. player to claim Golden Boot honors with his four goals and
> one assist. Convey notched a pair of goals as the team's captain and
> playmaker, while Clark appeared in all five games as defensive midfielder.
> A pair of collegians also dots the roster in goalkeeper Steve
> Cronin and defender Chris Wingert. Cronin has been the U-20 starting
> goalkeeper for the last two years and recently earned All-Tournament
> honors at UAE '03 by posting three wins (including two shutouts) and a
> 1.20 Goals Against Average. Cronin also led Santa Clara to the Final
> Four of the NCAA Men's College Cup in Columbus, Ohio, where they were
> edged 1-0 by eventual champion Indiana. Wingert and his St. John's team
> made it a step further, falling 2-1 to the Hoosiers in the national
> championship game. The 2003 Big East Defender of the Year is one of
> three finalists for the M.A.C./Hermann Award, which goes to the nation's
> top Div. 1 player and will be awarded on January 9.
> Notably absent from the camp roster are Belgium-based defenders
> and normal U-23 starters Oguchi Onyewu (R.A.A. Louviere) and Alexander
> Yi (Royal Antwerp F.C.), who will remain in Europe for Winter Break.
> The U.S. Under-23 MNT began the road to the 2004 Olympics in
> November, where they defeated the Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts &
> Nevis in the second round of CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying by an aggregate
> score of 10-0 in a home-and-home series after receiving a bye in the
> first round.
> At the final round of qualifying in Mexico, the USA will play
> all three Group A matches at Estadio Tres de Marzo, facing Panama first
> on Tuesday, Feb. 3, followed by matches against Canada on Thursday, Feb.
> 5 and Honduras on Sunday, Feb. 7. Kickoff times have yet to be
> determined for any of the final round matches, but all U.S. games can be
> followed by fans live via ussoccer.com's MatchTracker, presented by
> Philips Electronics.
> The tournament opens on Feb. 2 with Group B action featuring
> Costa Rica, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and the host nation at Estadio
> Jalisco. The top two teams from each group will meet in the
> single-elimination semifinals on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at Estadio Jalisco,
> with the winner of Group A meeting the second-place team from Group B,
> and the winner of Group B meeting the second-place team from Group A.
> The two semi-final winners will earn automatic berths to Athens 2004 and
> meet in the final on Feb. 12.
> Below are the tournament dates and match-ups:
> GROUP A (All matches at Estadio Tres de Marzo)
> Date            Match-up                             Kickoff (local)
> Feb. 3         Canada vs. Honduras            TBD
> Panama vs. USA                   TBD
> Feb. 5         Honduras vs. Panama            TBD
> Canada vs. USA                   TBD
> Feb. 7         Canada vs. Panama               TBD
> Honduras vs. USA                TBD
> GROUP B (All matches at Estadio Jalisco)
> Date            Match-up                              Kickoff (local)
> Feb. 2         Costa Rica vs. Jamaica          TBD
> T&T vs. Mexico                    TBD
> Feb. 4         Costa Rica vs. T&T               TBD
> Jamaica vs. Mexico                TBD
> Feb. 6         T&T vs. Jamaica                    TBD
> Costa Rica vs. Mexico           TBD
> SINGLE ELIMINATION (All matches at Estadio Jalisco)
> Semifinals
> Date            Match-up                              Kickoff (local)
> Feb. 10       Semi #1 (A1 vs. B2)              TBD
> Semi #2 (A2 vs. B1)              TBD
> Final / Third Place
> Date            Match-up                              Kickoff (local)
> Feb. 12       Semi Losers                           TBD
> Semi Winners                         TBD
> 
> 
> U.S. Under-23 MNT Roster
> Olympic Qualifying Training Camp
> Jan. 4-18 -- Carson, Calif.
> Name                        Pos.    Ht.    Wt.       DOB    Hometown
> Club/College   
> Beasley, DaMarcus    M    5'9"    140    05/24/82    Fort Wayne, Ind.
> Chicago Fire (MLS)
> Beckerman, Kyle    M    5'10"    155    04/03/82    Crofton, Md.
> Colorado Rapids (MLS)
> Borchers, Nat    D    6'2"    175    04/13/81    Pueblo, Colo.
> Colorado Rapids (MLS)
> Buddle, Edson    F    6'1"    170    05/02/81    New Rochelle, N.Y.
> Columbus Crew (MLS)
> Burciaga, Jr., Jose    D    6'1"    165    11/16/81    Duncanville,
> Texas    K.C. Wizards (MLS)
> Carroll, Brian    M    5'10"    155    07/20/81    Springfield, Va.
> D.C. United (MLS)
> Casey, Conor    F    6'2"    190    07/25/81    Gilpin, Colo.    F.C.
> Karlsruher (Germany)
> Clark, Ricardo    M    5'10"    150    05/10/83    Jonesboro, Ga.
> NY/NJ MetroStars (MLS)
> Convey, Bobby    M    5'9"    155    05/27/83        Philadelphia,
> Pa.    D.C. United (MLS)
> Countess, D.J.    GK    6'1"    185    01/09/82    Sacramento, Calif.
> Dallas Burn (MLS)
> Cronin, Steve    GK    6'2"    190    05/28/83    Fair Oaks, Calif.
> Santa Clara (NCAA)
> Davis, Brad    M    5'11"    165    11/08/81    St. Charles, Mo.
> Dallas Burn (MLS)
> Donovan, Landon    F    5'9"    155    03/04/82    Redlands, Calif.
> S.J. Earthquakes (MLS)
> Eskandarian, Alecko    F    5'9"    165    07/09/82    Montvale, N.J.
> D.C. United (MLS)
> Gaven, Eddie    M    6'0"    145    10/25/86    Hamilton, N.J.    NY/NJ
> MetroStars (MLS)
> Gray, Kelly    D    6'2"    170    04/07/81    San Jose, Calif.
> Chicago Fire (MLS)
> Johnson, Ed    M/F    6'0"    180    03/31/84    Palm Coast, Fla.
> Dallas Burn (MLS)
> Lewis, Ricky    D    6'0"    170    05/29/82    Spring, Texas    Los
> Angeles Galaxy (MLS)
> Martino, Kyle    M    5'10"    145    02/19/81    Westport, Conn.
> Columbus Crew (MLS)
> Pause, Logan    M    5'10"    155    08/22/81    Hillsborough, N.C.
> Chicago Fire (MLS)
> Stokes, David    D    6'3"    200    05/28/82    Dumfries, Va.    D.C.
> United (MLS)
> Testo, David    F     5'10"    160    08/07/81    Arden, N.C.
> Richmond Kickers (A-League)
> Thompson, Scot    D    6'0"    180    02/11/81   Rancho S. Margarita,
> Calif. L.A. Galaxy (MLS)
> Warren, Doug    GK    6'0"    195    03/18/81    Hoffman Estates,
> Ill.    D.C. United (MLS)
> Wingert, Chris    D    5'10"    160    06/16/82    Babylon, N.Y.    St.
> John's University (NCAA)
> 
> Goalkeepers (3): D.J. Countess, Steve Cronin, Doug Warren; Defenders
> (7): Nat Borchers, Jose Burciaga, Jr., Kelly Gray, Ricky Lewis, David
> Stokes, Scot Thompson, Chris Wingert; Midfielders (9): DaMarcus Beasley,
> Kyle Beckerman, Brian Carroll, Ricardo Clark, Bobby Convey, Brad Davis,
> Eddie Gaven, Kyle Martino, Logan Pause; Forwards (6): Edson Buddle,
> Conor Casey, Landon Donovan, Alecko Eskandarian, Eddie Johnson, David Testo.
> 
> U.S. U-23 MNT Staff
> Head Coach:              Glenn "Mooch" Myernick
> Assistant Coach:         Thomas Rongen
> Assistant Coach:         Ralph Perez
> Goalkeeper Coach:     Tim Mulqueen
> Team Coordinator:      R.J. Noto
> Trainer:                       Dave Andrews
> Equipment Manager:   John McDonald
> Press Officer:              Bryan Chenault
> 
> --usssoccer.com--


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