NASL star Ibarra attracts interest for October friendlies

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Sep 29, 2014

[USA MEN] One player who might be among the U.S. men's national team's October call-ups is 24-year-old winger Miguel Ibarra of NASL spring champion and fall leader Minnesota United FC. His connection to Jurgen Klinsmann includes a stint on Orange County Blue Star, the club for which the U.S. national team coach once played under the pseudonym Jay Goppingen (after his hometown in Germany).

ESPN FC reported that Ibarra was called up for the matches against Honduras Oct. 10 and Ecuador Oct. 14, while Minnesota United would only confirm that he was on a preliminary list.

"Although we have not seen a finalized list of players being called up and we don’t know if he will ultimately end up on such a list, we are not surprised that a young and talented player like Miguel Ibarra has drawn the attention of the U.S. men’s coaching staff," said Minnesota United in a statement. "We are extremely proud of how Miguel has developed as a player and a person over the last several years here in Minnesota."

The 5-foot-7 Ibarra starred at Taft College, a California JC, and UC Irvine before being drafted by the Portland Timbers in the 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft.

He is in his third season with Minnesota. He was named the NASL Player of the Week the last two weeks after scoring both goals in the Loons' 2-0 win over San Antonio that pushed back into the lead in the fall standings. On Sunday, he scored one goal and set up NASL top scorer Christian Ramirez for the late winner in Minnesota's 3-2 win over Ottawa.

Ibarra, who plays on the right wing, has five goals and four assists for Minnesota. He played briefly for Blue Star, the former PDL club, before his senior season at UCI.