CHICAGO, Ill.(Nov. 26, 2018) - Chicago Fire Academy goalkeeper Damian Las has been called in by acting U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team head coach Sean Tsakirishas as part of a 24-player roster for the annual Nike International Friendlies taking place from Nov. 28 to Dec. 2 at the Premier Sports Campus in Lakewood Ranch, Fla.
The four-team tournament will feature the USA, Brazil, Portugal and Turkey. The USA kicks things off against Portugal on Wednesday, Nov. 28 (5:30 p.m. CT), takes on Turkey on Friday, Nov. 30 (5:30 p.m. CT) and wraps up versus Brazil on Sunday, Dec. 2 (4:30 p.m. CT). All tournament matches will be streamed live on ussoccer.com, Facebook and YouTube.
Fresh off of being named to the United Soccer Coaches 2018 Youth All-America Team, Las is one of three players -- alongside defender Axel Alejandre and midfielder Adam Saldana -- that have appeared in all eight events of the U-17 cycle thus far, and is one of seven returnees that additionally participated in last year's edition of the event. This year’s Nike International Friendlies will serve as important preparation as all four nations attempt to qualify for the World Cup next spring.
Roster by Position (Club or College; Hometown; Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (3):Trace Alphin (North Carolina FC; Raleigh, N.C.; 0/0), Damian Las (Chicago Fire; Norridge, Ill.; 11/0), Chituru Odunze (Vancouver Whitecaps FC/CAN; Calgary, Alberta; 3/0)
DEFENDERS (8):Axel Alejandre (FC United; Chicago, Ill.; 12/0), Adam Armour (North Carolina FC; Cary, N.C.; 8/0), Sebastian Falsone (Virginia Development Academy; Warrenton, Va.; 0/0), Jonathan Gomez (FC Dallas; Keller, Texas; 0/0), Tayvon Gray (New York City FC; Bronx, N.Y.; 7/0), Kobe Hernandez (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.; 11/1), Mason Judge (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER; Tampa, Fla.; 10/0), Joe Scally (New York City FC; Lake Grove, N.Y.; 11/1)
MIDFIELDERS (6):Masango Akale (Minnesota Thunder Academy; Minneapolis, Minn.; 0/0), Andre Luiz Costa (Rayo Vallecano/ESP; Madrid, Spain; 0/0), William Reilly (Atlanta United FC; Decatur, Ga.; 2/0), Giovanni Reyna (Unattached; Bedford, N.Y.; 5/1), Adam Saldana (LA Galaxy; Panorama City, Calif.; 14/1), Peter Stroud (West Ham United/ENG; Chester, N.J.; 12/0)
FORWARDS (7):Cameron Dunbar (LA Galaxy; Chula Vista, Calif.; 0/0), Ruben Hernandez (Club Leon/MEX; Manteca, Calif.; 0/0), Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez (Seattle Sounders FC; Kent, Wash.; 12/5), Ricardo Pepi (FC Dallas; McKinney, Texas; 3/0), Daniel Robles (Seattle Sounders FC; White Center, Wash.; 5/0), Alex Villanueva (Seattle Sounders FC; Maple Valley, Wash.; 0/0), Griffin Yow (D.C. United; Clifton, Va.; 3/2)
