Tab Ramos named 20 players to travel to Honduras on Monday as part of preparations for the Concacaf Under-20 Championship in January but before the team evenarrived two players dropped out. For more on the U-20s, plus the Concacaf U-17 championship schedule, National League boys play and Super Y League champions.
U.S. U-20 National Team Roster: Honduras Camp
But the stunner was the news out of Colombia that No. 2 keeper Santiago Castano of the New York Red Bulls had decided to joinColombia’s U-20s, who are preparing for the Sudamericano, the South American U-20 Championship in January.
The No. 1 keeper is expected to be ZackSteffen, who left Maryland to sign with Freiburg of the German Bundesliga.
The New England Revolution’s Diego Fagundez, who is not a U.S. citizen, is training with Uruguay’s U-20s, who will host the Sudamericano. One of thegoalkeepers for Mexico’s U-20s is FC Dallas backup Jesse Gonzalez.
Concacaf Under-17 Championship scheduleset
The U.S. under-17 national team was drawn with host Honduras, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Cuba and the winner of the El Salvador-Guatemala playoff in Group A at the 2015Concacaf Under-17 Championship Feb. 27-March 15 in San Pedro Sula.
Concacaf Under-17 Championship:
The Honduras-USA match March 8 at the Francisco Morazan Stadium will be achance for revenge for the USA. In 2013, Honduras knocked the USA out of the Under-17 World Cup for the first time since the tournament began in 1985.
Group B contains Canada, Haiti,Panama, Mexico, St. Lucia and Costa Rica in order of positions drawn.
The two group winners and winners of the two playoff games involving the second- and third-place teams will advanceto the 2015 Under-17 World Cup in Chile Oct. 17-Nov. 8.
For the playoff games involving the second- and third-place teams, they will be re-seeded 1-4 based on their group records and thematches will involve 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3. A third match on the final day of play between the two group winners will determine the Concacaf champion.
Arlington Impact Red pulled away for a 3-1 comeback winover Santa Barbara SC White in a matchup of unbeaten and untied teams in the Under-17 Blue Division to finish the first four days of play in the U.S. Youth Soccer National League with a 4-0-0record.
Santa Barbara grabbed an advantage just before halftime on a goal by Brandon Sanchez, but Arlington’s Nicolas Ducceschi, Taofik Lucas-Walker and William McCreary scored after the break to take control of thedivision.
The only other boys team with a perfect record is U-18 FC Dallas Premier.
The first stage of girls play was held three weeks earlier at the Wilson Gillette SoccerComplex and Rocky Mount Sports Complex in Wilson, N.C. The only unbeaten and untied teams after four games are U-15 Tophat Gold and Legends SC.
GrandRapids Crew Juniors clean up at Super Y-League finals
The Grand Rapids Crew Juniors claimed three titles — the most of any club — at the Super Y-League North American Finals heldat IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
Grand Rapids’ titles all came on the girls side. The U-15s went on a perfect run through the championship with five wins in five games.
2014 Super Y League North American Finals
U17 Boys: Force Football Club Academy 3, DDYSC Wolves 2
(Met Oval won 4-3 in a penalty shootout)
U15 Boys: Ottawa Fury FC 3,Alliance Academy 1
U14 Boys: Kalamazoo Kingdom 1, Parsippany SC 0
U13 Boys: Alpharetta Ambush SC 5, OrlandoCity SC 3
U12 Boys: Orlando City SC 3, BW Gottschee 1
U17 Girls: Gulf Coast Texas 3, Force Football ClubAcademy 0
U16 Girls: Grand Rapids Crew Juniors 2, Kalamazoo Kingdom 0
U15Girls: Grand Rapids Crew Juniors 3, Force Football Club Academy 1
U14 Girls: Annandale United Majestics FC 1, Northern Virginia Majestics 0
U13 Girls: Grand Rapids Crew Juniors 2, Valkyries FC 0
U12 Girls: Waza FC East 2, Grand Rapids Crew Juniors 1
Finally, CONCACAF made the required changes to the under-age qualifications process. U-17 qualification this time is much better and fairer than the previous ones.