Two collegians -- Javier Gonzalez of St. Francis (N.Y.) and Juan Guerra of FIU -- were selected to play for Venezuela at the South American Youth Championship, which began on Saturday in Paraguay. Neither player played in Venezuela's opening game, a 1-0 victory over Uruguay.

Both are veterans of the Venezuela national youth team program. Gonzalez has been in the system since he was 15. Guerra, who resides in Miami and starred for Florida youth powers Weston and West Kendall Optimist, has played for Venezuela's U-15 and U-17 teams.

Gonzalez and Guerra were recommended by former Venezuela international Giovanni Savarese, who is Director of Youth Soccer and Player Development Systems for Red Bull New York.