U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team head coach Javier Perez has called up 36 players, including Houston Dynamo Academy midfielder Christian Lucatero, for a week-long training camp at U.S. Soccer’s National Training Center in Carson, Calif.
The camp takes place Sept. 22-29 and will feature an intrasquad scrimmage on Wednesday, Sept. 25, as well as two matches on Saturday, Sept. 28, against local club sides.
Lucatero currently plays for the Dynamo Academy U-18s, a season after reaching the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Finals Week with the Dynamo U-16s.
Perez has called a contingent of players born in 1996 and 1997, 33 of which have ties to U.S. Soccer’s Development Academy as current or former players. In addition, Lucatero is one of 25 players who participated the National Combine in August at Nike Headquarters in Beaverton, Ore.
It is the first training camp for the U-18 MNT since finishing in third place at the 2013 Milk Cup in Northern Ireland. Following the camp, Perez will select an 18-player roster to travel from Oct. 6-14 to represent the U.S. at a four-team tournament in Limoges, France.
U.S. U-18 MNT Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (4): Austin Aviza (New England Revolution; Medway, Mass.), Jeff Caldwell (NC Fusion; Todd, N.C.), Carter Richardson (Crew Soccer Academy; Dublin, Ohio), Justin Vom Steeg (Real So Cal; Santa Barbara, Calif.)
DEFENDERS (13): David Chavez (De Anza Force; Redwood City, Calif.), Conor Donovan (Capital Area RailHawks Academy; Fuquay Varina, N.C.), Chase Gasper (Bethesda-Olney; Alexandria, Va.), Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake AZ; Tucson, Ariz.), Malcolm Jones (LA Galaxy; Chino Hills, Calif.), Elijah Martin (LA Galaxy; Fresno, Calif.), Shaquell Moore (IMG Academy; Powder Springs, Ga.), Erik Palmer-Brown (Sporting Kansas City; Lee’s Summit, Mo.), Quentin Pearson (Colorado Rapids; Longmont, Colo.), Pablo Pelaez (San Diego Surf; San Diego, Calif.), Tommy Redding (Chicago Magic PSG; Oviedo, Fla.), Miles Robinson (FC Bolts Celtic; Arlington, Mass.), Peter Schropp (Omaha FC; Omaha, Neb.)
MIDFIELDERS (11): Mukwelle Akale (Minnesota Thunder; Minneapolis, Minn.), Corey Baird (Real Salt Lake AZ; Escondido, Calif.), Coy Craft (FC Dallas; Frisco, Texas), Grant Hollkamp (Indiana Fire; Borden, Ind.), Maduabuchi Obinwa (Chicago Magic PSG; Orlando, Fla.), Amirgy Pineda (Fullerton Rangers; Santa Ana, Calif.), Martin Salas Jr. (FC Dallas; Dallas, Texas), Connor Smith (Baltimore Celtic; Clarksville, Md.), Ben Swanson (Crew Soccer Academy; Grove City, Ohio), Tyler Turner (IMG Academy; Meriden, Conn.), David Villegas (Chicago Magic PSG; Sacramento, Calif.)
FORWARDS (8): Jeremy Ebobisse (Bethesda Olney; Bethesda, Md.), Sebastian Elney (Boca United; Boca Raton, Fla.), Brooks Lennon (Real Salt Lake AZ; Paradise Valley, Ariz.), Christian Lucatero (Houston Dynamo; Pasadena, Texas), Sebastian Saucedo (Real Salt Lake AZ; Casa Grande, Ariz.), Alejandro Vergara (Chicago Magic PSG; Long Beach, Calif.), Alan Winn (Solar Chelsea SC; Garland, Texas), Dembakwi Yomba (Concorde Fire; Lithona, Ga.)
