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[GOALGUY]

The U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team will come together for a training camp from April 25-May 2 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Head coach Mike Matkovich has named 24 players who will train twice daily and compete against local club teams during the week. The team will also attend the Los Angeles Galaxy match against the Philadelphia Union on May 1.

Wake Forest. The remaining five players – Dustin Corea, Andrew Craven, Luis Gil, Stefan Jerome and Eriq Zavaleta – were all part of the U.S. Soccer U-17 Men’s National Team Residency Program in 2009. Gil, who signed with Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer before the 2010 season, is the lone professional player on the roster.

Roster By Position:

GOALKEEPERS (2): Keith Cardona (NY Red Bulls Academy; Glen Rock N.J.), Jonathan Kempin (Kansas City Wizards; Leawood, Kans.)
DEFENDERS (: Michael Ambrose (FC Dallas; Frisco, Texas), Anthony Carerras (BW Gottschee; Valley Stream, N.Y.), Marquez Fernandez (Baltimore Bays Chelsea; Baltimore, Md.), Andrew Jean-Baptiste (Albertson SC; Brentwood, N.Y.), Jordan McCrary (Concorde Fire; Marietta, Ga.), Boyd Okwuonu (FC Dallas Juniors; Edmund, Okla.), Scott Thomsen (PDA; Brick, N.J.), Eriq Zavaleta (FC Pride; Westfield, Ind.)
MIDFIELDERS (10): Dustin Corea (Unattached; Portland, Ore.), Andrew Craven (First Coast Kyx; St. Simons Island, Ga.), Sean Davis (NY Red Bulls Academy; Holmdel, N.J.), Kyle Emerson (Wake Forest; Cypress, Texas), Daniel Garcia (FC Dallas Juniors; Dallas, Texas), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake; Garden Grove, Calif.), Miguel Lopez (Lonestar Aztex Academy; Alton, Texas), Daniel Metzger (PDA; Holmdel, N.J.), Emilio Orozco (Real SoCal; Oxnard, Calif.), Nick Palodichuk (Washington Premier FC; Battleground, Wash.)
FORWARDS (4): Villyan Bijev (Cal Odyssey; Fresno, Calif.), Victor Chavez (Real So Cal; Fontana, Calif.), Stefan Jerome (West Pines United FC; Davie, Fla.), Sean Okoli (Washington Premier FC; Federal Way, Wash.)

[sounderfan]

Way to go, guys! 

[gr8cgar]

 Nick Palodichuk (Washington Premier FC; Battleground, Wash.)
 Sean Okoli (Washington Premier FC; Federal Way, Wash.)

VERY NICE!!!

[1usa1]

Is Okoli in "hot water"w ith his academy and high school teams because he played in exhibition game with sounder reserves and oregon state?

[soccer45girls]

Nice job, boys! Way to represent WA state! 

[English1]

Is Okoli in "hot water"w ith his academy and high school teams because he played in exhibition game with sounder reserves and oregon state?

Let's just congratulate these Premier boys today shall we??

Congrats to you both on your awesome achievments!!!!!!!!

[vusa92blue]

Big ups to Nick.  Great job for a kid that comes from a humble back ground.

[1usa1]

Let's just congratulate these Premier boys today shall we??

  Don't misunderstand me. I think it's wonderful for these 2 players to have an apportunity like this and I wish them the best. However, the situation I alluded to is a reality and I was simply attempting to get some factual information. I brought it up because his name was mentioned in the initial post.

[MrUnderhill]

Way to go guys!

[picaro]

Way to go guy!!

[Old Dog]

Let's just congratulate these Premier boys today shall we??

  Don't misunderstand me. I think it's wonderful for these 2 players to have an apportunity like this and I wish them the best. However, the situation I alluded to is a reality and I was simply attempting to get some factual information. I brought it up because his name was mentioned in the initial post.

Word on the street amd rumor only. WIAA has had a special meeting and the kid has been cleared to play. Yea, people got this one right in my book.

[juggles]

Good to hear...got it right. Anyone know about his status with academy team?

[Old Dog]

Again, only by rumor, I am hearing a (1) game sit.

[famj]

Kudos for SO, work to do for NP and the 18s in general.  Players:  take note of SO's comments about the issue of fitness when playing at a higher level!

Coach says U18s ‘over their heads’ in big loss
Article Written By ESNN

Coach Mike Matkovich will take the blame for this one.

He’d told his U.S. U18 Men’s National team ad nauseum that playing against men would be a different challenge, but until they experienced it he may as well have been talking to himself.

And after the Chivas USA reserves handed down a not-so-friendly 6-1 drubbing Tuesday at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA, it ended up not just being a revelation for the players, but for the coach too. 

“They were in over their heads,” Matkovich said. “Maybe that was my fault. A lot of these guys had never played against men in their life, and the problem in this country is I don’t know how much guys have the opportunity to get games like this. It’s a learning process.”

It was a hard lesson on an overcast morning, but one of many teachable moments that will emerge from this week’s U18 gathering.

The U.S. squad actually held together fairly well during a first half that ended in a 1-1 tie.

After the initial submersion into a new competition level, one that featured quick attacking movement from Chivas (which featured a few younger Academy players) and a beautifully played goal early on, the U.S. team started to counterattack effectively.

Stefan Jerome made a great service into Sean Okoli for a would-be score that was headed wide, but Okoli would soon make amends.

A few possessions later, Okoli, the athletic lead striker in the team’s 1-3-2-4 formation, broke free with a great run along the left wing. Midfielder Luis Gil delivered a good ball, and Okoli used a great change of pace to create space and punch the ball far post with his left foot – the ball ricocheting in off the post. 

It was an impressive move, and, come to find out, one made out of necessity.

“My right foot is stronger but it’s hurt right now so my left is my go-to foot,” Okoli said, indicating that he had a sore right quad.

Okoli was one of the bright spots before the game got out of hand in the second half.

Goalkeeper Jonathan Kempin made some good tactical plays during the first half: he positioned himself perfectly to make a save on a virtual 1v1 play, then made a diving slap away on a chip over his head. On another play, he aggressively pursued an attacker and forced a shot wide.

National team veteran Michael Ambrose was the star of the defensive unit. Small, but super fast and fearless, he made some good slide tackles on players with superior size and strength, and he also built the attack well out of the back.

Defensively, there were myriad problems, however. Holding midfielder Nick Palodichuk got caught in some bad matchups, despite his penchant for battling. Defenders Andrew Jean-Baptiste and Eriq Zavaleta were beat a few times while Kyle Emerson lost a couple of possessions.

Midfielder Dustin Corea showed some good signs but he seemed puzzled at times when trying to combine with his teammates.

Overall, the U.S. side really didn’t have the ball long enough to ever build a rhythm with one another.

The second half represented the worst of it with five goals, all scored in front of the net, made by Chivas.

Okoli thought he and his team wore down.

“The biggest thing is the fitness level. We were trying to keep up but it was hard,” he said. “The coach said he was disappointed and we should be disappointed but we have to pick our heads up. We have a game Friday and it should not affect us the whole week.”

Though not satisfied with the effort, Matkovich explained the method to scheduling the opponent.

“We could have come out and played a team we knew we could beat, but you don’t get to see a player’s deficiencies that way,” he said. “When you don’t keep the ball or defend collectively and make things hard at this level this is what you’re going to get; and this is what we’ll face down the road.

“I could have made the game easy, but that doesn’t do us any good.”