USL Feature
Friday, January 3, 2014
TAMPA, Fla. – 2012 PDL All-League selection DeAndre Yedlin of the Seattle Sounders earned his first call-up to the U.S. Men’s National Team on Friday, leading a large contingent of USL alumni named by Jurgen Klinsmann for this January’s training camp, which opens on Monday in California.
Yedlin, who starred for the Sounders FC U23 before being signed as a Home Grown Player by the MLS side ahead of the 2013 season, helped the Sounders U23 claim the PDL Western Conference Championship as he appeared in all 19 games on the way to the national semifinals. This past season, Yedlin was a finalist for MLS Rookie of the Year as he made 37 appearances in all competitions.
Other uncapped former PDL alumni selected include Chance Myers, formerly of the Ventura County Fusion, Seth Sinovic, formerly of the Chicago Fire U-23, and Michael Harrington, who played for the Raleigh Elite. Houston’s Tally Hall, a former member of the Boulder Rapids U-23, returns to the squad with the chance to earn his first cap after being called in earlier this summer for the Gold Cup.
Overall, 13 members of the squad are USL alumni, with current mainstays such as Graham Zusi, formerly of the Central Florida Kraze, and Brad Evans, who played for the Orange County Blue Star, being joined by players such as Luis Gil and Bill Hamid, both of whom shone in the Super Y-League before quickly moving up the youth ranks.
A number of veterans also returned to the squad, with former PDL alums Dax McCarty of the New York Red Bulls and Clarence Goodson, formerly of the Boulder Rapids U-23, both earning selection. Eric Alexander of the New York Red Bulls and Sean Johnson of the Chicago Fire also return to the squad, which is set to face South Korea at the conclusion of the camp on February 1 at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif.