LOS ANGELES (Wednesday, March 9, 2022) – LA Galaxy Academy forward Paulo Rudisill and defender Riley Dalgado were named to the U.S. U-17 Men’s Youth National Team for an upcoming training camp from March 10-20 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for matches against Argentina on March 15 and Uruguay on March 18.
The roster also features a number of stand-outs from last year’s inaugural MLS NEXT campaign, which followed the U.S. Soccer Development Academy as the country’s highest level of youth soccer. Notably, the Galaxy’s Rudisill won the Golden Ball as the best U-15 player of the 2020-21 season.
The team is preparing for its return to international competition after the 2021 Concacaf U-17 Championship and 2021 FIFA U-17 World Cup were canceled due to the global health pandemic. The U-17s’ last international action came at a UEFA Development Tournament in February 2020, just before the global COVID-19 pandemic shut down the sporting world. There, the U-17s faced off against Spain, England and Denmark in what turned out to be the only matches of the 2020-21 U-17 cycle.
U-17 USMNT ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB; HOMETOWN)
GOALKEEPERS (2): Ryan Carney (New England Revolution), Diego Kochen (Barcelona/ESP)
DEFENDERS (6): Jayson Castillo (Seattle Sounders), Riley Dalgado (LA Galaxy), Tyler Hall (Inter Miami), Stuart Hawkins (Seattle Sounders), Gershon Henry (Real Salt Lake), Oscar Verhoeven (San Jose Earthquakes)
MIDFIELDERS (5): Brian Carmona (Charlotte FC), Cruz Medina (San Jose Earthquakes), Edwyn Mendoza (San Jose Earthquakes), Luis Moreno (Houston Dynamo), Pedro Soma (UE Cornella/ESP)
FORWARDS (7): Fidel Barajas (San Jose Earthquakes), Micah Burton (Austin FC), Bajung Darboe (Philadelphia Union), Andre Gitau (Houston Dynamo), Paulo Rudisill (LA Galaxy), Ezekiel Soto (Houston Dynamo), Luke Zielinski (Philadelphia Union)