U.S. U-17 boys Residency Program welcomes 11 newcomers

• by Mike Woitalla  @MikeWoitalla, Oct 25, 2016

Coach John Hackworth made 11 changes to the 32-player roster for the U-17 Residency Program for the fall semester from the squad launched in the spring semester that is aiming for the 2017 U-17 World Cup.

U.S. Soccer launched the U-17 Residency Program in Bradenton, Florida, in 1999 and the first class included Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Kyle Beckerman, Bobby Convey and Oguchi Onyewu, who went on to represent the USA at the senior World Cup. Other notable Bradenton alums include Eddie Johnson, Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley and Omar Gonzalez. The previous cycle included Christian Pulisic before he joined Borussia Dortmund prior to the 2015 U-17 World Cup.

The players who departed after the 2016 spring semester included Andrew Carleton, one of three U-17s who signed MLS contracts over the summer. D.C. United's Christopher Durkin and Christopher Goslin, who will join Carleton at expansion Atlanta United, are still in Bradenton. Defender Jean-Julian Foe Nuphaus moved to German club Hoffenheim.

Also gone is Ben Lederman, who entered the program after leaving Barcelona in the aftermath of the Spanish club's problems with FIFA over its registration of minors outside the EU.

One of the residency newcomers, Bryan Reynolds Jr., a high school freshman out of the FC Dallas academy, scored the opener in the 3-1 victory over Costa Rica on Oct. 22, the U-17s' first game since announcement of the new roster. Two days later, the USA beat Costa Rica, 4-0. Reynolds, one of five 2001s who entered the Residency Program, and Jaylin Lindsey, who played this summer for USL runner-up Swope Park Rangers, were the only new residents who played against Costa Rica.

Not all players who have been playing with the U.S. U-17s are in residency. Defenders Jake Arteaga and Kelee Cornfield-Saunders are in the LA Galaxy's academy program, which launched an academic component in 2015, and Floridian Rayshaun McGann is in the Philadelphia Union's residency program. Dutch-born Sergino Dest, of Ajax’s academy, started both games against Costa Rica.

Forward Timothy Weah, son of former Liberian great George Weah, signed a pro contract with Paris St. Germain, where he is starring in the UEFA Youth League.

U.S. Residency Roster:
GOALKEEPERS (4): Alexander Budnik (Sockers FC; Arlington Heights, Ill.), Nicolas Defreitas-Hansen (Weston FC; Southwest Ranches, Fla.), Justin Garces (Kendall SC; Miami, Fla.), Quantrell Jones (Baltimore Celtic; Baltimore, Md.)
DEFENDERS (9): Carlos Asensio (Atlanta United; Roswell, Ga.), Jose Bencomo (Colorado Rapids; Aurora, Colo.), Christopher Gloster (NY Red Bulls; Montclair, N.J.), Jaylin Lindsey (Sporting Kansas City; Charlotte, N.C.), Carlo Ritaccio (BW Gottschee; Westbury, N.Y.), Nicholas Slonina (Chicago Fire; Addison, Ill.), Arturo Vasquez (FC Golden State; Mira Loma, Calif.), Chandler Vaughn (D.C. United; Woodbridge, Va.), Tristen Weber (Unattached; San Clemente, Calif.)
MIDFIELDERS (11): George Acosta (Weston FC; Hollywood, Fla.), Isaac Angking (New England Revolution; Providence, R.I.), Taylor Booth (Real Salt Lake AZ; Eden, Utah), Christopher Durkin (D.C. United; Glen Allen, Va.), Blaine Ferri (Solar Chelsea SC; Southlake, Texas), Christopher Goslin (Atlanta United; Locust Grove, Ga.), Marcelo Palomino (Houston Dynamo; Houston, Texas), James Sands (New York City FC; Rye, N.Y.), Indiana Vassilev (IMG Academy; Savannah, Ga.), Adrian Villegas (Portland Timbers; Hood River, Ore.), Akil Watts (IMG Academy; Fort Wayne, Ind.)
FORWARDS (8): Ayomide Akinola (Toronto FC; Brampton, Ont.), Matthew Hundley (Real Colorado; Littleton, Colo.), Zyen Jones (Atlanta United; Clarkston, Ga.), Alejandro Pereira (Orlando City SC; Oviedo, Fla.), Bryan Reynolds Jr. (FC Dallas; Little Elm, Texas), William Sands (New York City FC; Rye, N.Y.), Joshua Sargent (Scott Gallagher Missouri; O’Fallen, Mo.), Tonny Temple (IMG Academy; Millville, Pa.).
Note: New players in bold.

Standing (L-R): Bryan Reynolds Jr, Christopher Durkin, James Sands, Joshua Sargent, Arturo Vasquez, Justin Garces.
Kneeling: Blaine Ferri, Christopher Gloster, George Acosta, Andrew Carleton, Sergino Dest. (Photo courtesy U.S. Soccer)

Next for Hackworth’s team is a training camp in Jamaica and games against Jamaica’s U-17s Nov. 2 and 6 in preparation for the 2016 Nike International Friendlies (Nov. 30-Dec. 4) at which the USA faces Portugal, Turkey and Brazil.

The Concacaf qualifying tournament for the 2017 U-17 World Cup in India takes place in Panama April 21-May 7.

“This is a special semester and year for our program,” said Hackworth. “We are returning the majority of the 2000’s and integrating the new group of 2000s and 2001s.  Our primary objective is player development with these talented young men, but with World Cup qualifying beginning in April, we will certainly put an emphasis on building a team that can achieve our desired goals.”

Oct. 22 in Bradenton, Fla.
USA 3 Costa Rica 1. Goals: Reynolds Jr. (Sargent) 30, Ferri (Gloster) 47, Sargent (Goslin) 63; Gomez 52
USA -- Garces; Gloster, Vasquez, J.Sands, Dest (Lindsey, 73); Durkin, Ferri (Angking, 83), Acosta (Goslin, 59); Reynolds Jr. (Temple, 73), Sargent (Jones, 83), Carleton.
Costa Rica -- Chamorro; Cortez, Arce, Farreon, Suarez; Flores (Rodolfo, 46), Munoz (Bustamante, 68), Seguiera, Abarca; Mora (Serrano, 73), Gómez (Jarquin, 78)

Oct. 24 in Bradenton, Fla.
USA 4 Costa Rica 0. Goals: Ferri (Carleton) 2, Sargent (Durkin) 34, Acosta (Angking) 65, Akinola (Jones) 85.
USA -- Garces; Gloster, Vasquez, J.Sands, Dest (Lindsey, 32); Durkin, Ferri (Acosta, 62), Angking; Reynolds Jr. (Jones, 78), Sargent (Akinola, 69), Carleton (W.Sands, 78).
Costa Rica -- Calvo, Cortez, Hernandez (Galo, 46), Arce, Farreon; Munoz (Roman, 46), Bustamante (Mora, 46), Seguiera; Rodolfo, Gomez (Abarca, 69) Mata (Jarquin, 46).

U.S. U-18 women beat Northern Ireland

The U.S. U-18 women's national team beat host Northern Ireland, 3-0, to finish second at the Women’s International Cup.

April Heinrichs’ team, which outshot the Irish 28-0, opened with a 10th minute strike from Belle Briede and an own goal within 13 minutes. Mireya Grey scored the third in the 72nd minute. Briede’s goal was set up by Kelsey Turnbow, who scored twice in the USA’s 3-1 win against France. The USA opened with a 2-1 loss to England, which won the tournament.

The U.S. squad was comprised of eight players born in 1999 and 12 in 1998.

Standing (L-R): Karlie Paschall, Sydney Dawson, Arlie Jones, Mandy McGlynn, Kelsey Turnbow, Viviana Villacorta, Mia Palmer.
Kneeling: Belle Briede, Samantha Coffey, Shea Moyer, Tara McKeown.

Oct. 23 in Belfast, Northern Ireland
USA 3 Northern Ireland 0. Briede (Turnbow) 10, own goal 13, Grey (Villacorta) 72.
USA -- McGlynn; Dawson, Coffey, Briede (Berg, 46), Jones, Turnbow (Ali, 74), Palmer (Harber, 66), McKeown (Doyle, 74), Moyer (Grey, 46), Villacorta, Paschall.
Northern Ireland -- Callaghan (McCaught, 63); Moore, Robson, McMaster, Burns, Hamilton, Orr, Bassett, Magee (Crawford, 63), White, Beattie (McGinn).