BRADENTON, Fla. (Sept. 2, 2008) – U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team head coach Wilmer Cabrera and his staff have named 40 players to the 2008 fall semester of the U.S. Soccer Residency Program in Bradenton, Fla. All of the players were born in 1992, 1993 and 1994, and are eligible to compete in the 2009 FIFA Under-17 World Cup.

“For us, it was important to find players from all over the country. Whether they come from affiliated leagues or small clubs, we wanted to make sure to reach more cities and more players than before,” said Cabrera, who joined the program as head coach in October 2007. “We made every effort to bring in players this semester that we think can make the roster for qualifying next spring.”

Cabrera and his staff welcome 17 players who have joined the program for the first time, including Boyd Okwuono and Sean Davis, who have been involved with the Under-15 Boys National Team. Five new players – Michael Ambrose, Sean Davis, Victor Pineda, Dominick Sarle and Eriq Zavaleta - secured their place in Residency during the team’s two-week tour of Central America in early August, where they faced a number of CONCACAF opponents.

Of the 23 returning players, seven are beginning their second semester in Bradenton, including the youngest on the roster in Alfred Koroma, while 15 are in their third semester. The Under-17 Men’s National Team will also welcome back midfielders Donovan Henry and Charles Renken and defender Jared Watts, who suffered knee injuries in the spring semester.

There are 19 players who join the squad from clubs in U.S. Soccer’s Development Academy, including new players who were brought in as the result of the extensive scouting network implemented in the inaugural year of the Academy. From that group, six players - John Agudelo, Julio Arjona, Jonathan Kempin, Alex Molano, Shaquille Phillips and Pineda – come from youth clubs associated with Major League Soccer teams.

Midfielder Carlos Martinez and forward Jack McInerney enter the semester as the team’s leading scorers in 2008. Martinez has scored five goals and added two assists in international competition, while McInerney has also tallied five times, including game-winners against Uruguay, Guatemala and Honduras.

The players will be competing for a place on the U.S. team that will attempt to qualify for its 14th consecutive FIFA Under-17 World Cup in April or May, when the qualifying tournament will be held in Mexico. Dates and venues for that tournament will be announced at a later date.

The U.S. players live on campus at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., and train in the morning under the guidance of Cabrera and assistant coaches Paul Caffrey, Paul Grafer and Keith Fulk, who was hired before the start of the semester as the team’s third assistant. In the afternoon, the players attend classes at nearby Bradenton Preparatory Academy. While in the full-time residency program, the U.S. not only trains daily under Cabrera, but also has access to the IMG Academy’s spacious facilities. The team regularly uses IMG’s state-of-the-art strength-training facilities, as well as some of the nation’s best sports psychologists that work at the Academy. The IMG Academy includes top-of-the-line soccer equipment, three Bermuda grass fields, an indoor dome with artificial turf, two swimming pools, newly renovated student housing and dining facilities.

Since its inception in 1999, nearly 200 players have been through the full-time Residency Program, many of whom have moved on to Major League Soccer, or professional leagues in Europe. Fifteen players have also registered at least one cap with the full MNT: Bobby Convey, Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Jonathan Spector, Oguchi Onyewu, Eddie Johnson, Eddie Gaven, Santino Quaranta, Chad Marshall, Heath Pearce, Justin Mapp, Freddy Adu and Michael Bradley.

Player	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Birthdate	Hometown	Club
Agudelo, John	F	6-1	185	11/23/92	Barnegat, N.J.	N.Y. Red Bulls Academy
Ambrose, Michael	D	5-7	135	10/05/93	El Paso, Texas	Texas Fire
Arjona, Julio	D	6-0	170	03/10/92	Germantown, Md.	D.C. United Academy
Badr, Samir	GK	6-3	175	04/02/92	Fairfax, Va.	Bethesda Roadrunners
Brown, Jonathan	F	5-10	155	12/07/92	Clinton, Miss.	Central Jackson
Canales, Jonathan	M	5-9	145	02/29/92	Santa Ana, Calif.	West Coast FC
Corea, Dustin	M	5-9	145	03/21/92	Milwaukee, Ore.	East Side United FC
Craven, Andrew	M	5-11	155	01/21/92	St. Simons Island, Ga.	First Coast Kicks
Davis, Sean	M	5-9	140	02/08/93	Holmdel, N.J.	Match Fit Academy
Duran, Bryan	M	5-4	145	01/25/92	Duncanville, Texas	Latino Americana
Edwards, Earl	GK	6-3	205	01/24/92	San Diego, Calif.	La Jolla Nomads
Garza, Victor	M	5-7	140	02/25/92	Edinburg, Texas	Premier Soccer Academy
Gil, Luis	M	5-7	150	11/14/93	Garden Grove, Calif.	Pateadores
Gutierrez, Jaime	F	5-11	170	01/21/92	Lake Forest, Calif.	West Coast FC
Gyau, Joseph	M/F	5-7	145	09/16/92	Silver Springs, Md.	FC DELCO
Henry, Donovan	M	5-8	145	-2/20/92	Parkland, Fla.	Schulz Academy
Herold, Zachary	D	5-11	160	06/07/92	Port St. Lucie, Fla.	West Pines United
Jerome, Stefan	F	6-0	165	08/11/92	Davie, Fla.	West Pines United
Kempin, Jonathan	GK	6-1	170	04/08/93	Leawood, Kan.	KC Wizards Juniors
Kitchen, Perry	D	5-11	150	02/29/92	Indianapolis, Ind.	Chicago Magic
Koroma, Alfred	F	6-0	160	04/19/94	Dallas, Texas	Solar Red
Malki, George	M	5-11	155	04/21/92	Scottsdale, Ariz.	SC Delsol
Martinez, Carlos	M	5-9	155	01/21/92	Las Vegas, Nev.	Downtown Las Vegas SC
McCrary, Jordan	D	5-7	140	07/28/93	Marietta, Ga.	Concorde Fire
McInerney, Jack	F	5-9	160	08/05/92	Alpharetta, Ga.	Cobb SC
Molano, Alex	M	5-7	140	04/10/92	Grapevine, Texas	FC Dallas Juniors
Nash, Joel	M	5-6	145	01/20/92	Birmingham, Ala.	Premier Soccer Academy
Okwuonu, Boyd	D	5-7	145	02/24/93	Edmond, Okla.	Tulsa Thunder
Orozco, Emilio	D	5-11	150	04/29/92	Oxnard, Calif.	Rampage FC
Phillips, Shaquille	D	6-0	175	04/21/92	Greenbelt, Md.	D.C. United Academy
Pineda, Victor	M	5-11	140	03/15/93	Boilingbrook, Ill.	Chicago Fire Academy
Polak, Tyler	D	5-8	140	05/13/92	Lincoln, Neb.	Capital Soccer Academy
Renken, Charles	M	5-8	140	12/19/93	Edwardsville, Ill.	Scott Gallagher
Richey, Spencer	GK	6-1	170	05/30/92	Seattle, Wash.	Crossfire Premier
Rosas, Alberto	D	5-11	155	01/01/92	North Hollywood, Calif.	Real So Cal
Sarle, Dominick	M	5-9	140	09/15/92	Huntington, N.Y.	BW Gottschee
Shinsky, Alex	D	5-9	140	04/02/93	York, Penn.	SuperNova FC
Stephenson, Erik	M	5-8	160	01/08/92	Del Mar, Calif.	Surf
Watts, Jared	D	6-1	145	02/03/92	Statesville, N.C.	North Meck Storm
Zavaleta, Eriq	D	6-2	175	08/02/92	Westfield, Ind.	FC Pride

Under-17 Residency Roster by Position
GOALKEEPERS (4): Samir Badr (Fairfax, Va.), Earl Edwards (San Diego, Calif.), Jonathan Kempin (K.C. Wizards Juniors), Spencer Richey (Crossfire Premier)
DEFENDERS (13): Michael Ambrose (El Paso, Texas), Julio Arjona (D.C. United Academy), Zachary Herold (Port St. Lucie, Fla.), Perry Kitchen (Chicago Magic), Jordan McCrary (Concorde Fire), Boyd Okwuonu (Edmond, Okla.), Emilio Orozco (Oxnard, Calif.), Shaquille Phillips (D.C. United Academy), Tyler Polak (Lincoln, Neb.), Alberto Rosas (Real So Cal), Alex Shinsky (York, Pa.), Jared Watts (North Meck), Eriq Zavaleta (Westfield, Ind.)
MIDFIELDERS (17): Jonathan Canales (Santa Ana, Calif.), Dustin Corea (Milwaukee, Ore.), Andrew Craven (St. Simons Island, Ga.), Sean Davis (Matchfit Academy), Bryan Duran (Duncanville, Texas), Victor Garza (Edinburg, Texas), Luis Gil (Pateadores), Joseph Gyau (FC DELCO), Donovan Henry (Schulz Academy), George Malki (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Carlos Martinez (Las Vegas, Nev.), Alex Molano (F.C. Dallas Juniors), Joel Nash (Birmingham, Ala.), Victor Pineda (Chicago Fire Academy), Charles Renken (Scott Gallagher), Dominic Sarle (BW Gottschee), Erik Stephenson (Surf)
FORWARDS (6): John Agudelo (N.Y. Red Bulls Academy), Jonathan Brown (Clinton, Miss), Jaime Gutierrez (Lake Forest, Calif.), Stefan Jerome (Davie, Fla.), Alfred Koroma (Solar Red), Jack McInerney (Alpharetta, Ga.)

Note: Development Academy players are indicated by the listing of their clubs



National Team Staff                                    

Head Coach:	Wilmer Cabrera	Lakewood Ranch, Fla.
Assistant Coach:	Paul Caffrey	Bradenton, Fla.
Assistant Coach:	Paul Grafer	Bradenton, Fla.
Assistant Coach:	Keith Fulk	Bradenton, Fla.
Program Manager:	Tim Ryder	Lakewood Ranch, Fla.
Team Coordinator:	Matt Burke	Bradenton, Fla.
Equipment Coordinator:	Jason Peters	St. Petersburg, Fla.
Athletic Trainer:	Paul Rushing	Palmetto, Fla.
Athletic Trainer:	Michael White	St. Petersburg, Fla.