Earthquakes' Cruz Medina, Edwyn Mendoza Called to Youth International Duty
MLS San Jose Earthquakes

Earthquakes' Cruz Medina, Edwyn Mendoza Called to Youth International Duty

Published on November 9, 2025 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Jose Earthquakes News Release


SAN JOSE, Calif. - The San Jose Earthquakes announced today that midfielders Cruz Medina and Edwyn Mendoza have been called by U.S. Soccer to join the USA Under-20 Men's National Team for international training camp from Nov. 10-18 in Alajuela, Costa Rica.

During the camp, headed by coach Rob Valentino, the U-20 MNT will play the Costa Rica U-20 side on Nov. 15 and Nov. 18 at Estadio Piedades de Santa Ana. Both matches will kick off at 10 a.m. local time (8 a.m. PT).

The camp is part of the Federation's continued focus on ‚ the ‚ U.S. Way ‚ philosophy, which emphasizes increased programming for Youth National Teams to create more opportunities for young players to advance through the pathway to the senior National Team with the goal of representing their country at a world championship.

Medina, 19, has been a standout player for the Quakes' MLS NEXT Pro team, The Town FC. The San Francisco native has tallied 19 goal contributions (12g/7a) across 68 appearances (55 starts). This season, he tallied career highs in goals (7) and assists (5) as TTFC repeated as Pacific Division Champions and advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals for the third consecutive season. For his performance, Medina was named to the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro Best XI. One of only three Americans named to The Guardian's 2023 Top 60 Best Young Talents in the World list, he signed a first-team contract as a Homegrown Player with San Jose in June 2022.

Internationally, Medina is coming off participation in the September U.S. U-20 Domestic Identity Camp in Florida. He was also called up to the U.S. U-19 team's training camp in Morocco in 2024 before playing in the Concacaf U-20 Championships, scoring a goal and notching an assist as the U.S. were finalists. The midfielder starred for the U-17 United States Men's Youth National Team in 2023, making the Concacaf U-17 Championship Best XI. He subsequently served as U.S. team captain in the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup group stage in Indonesia. Mexico's Youth National Team has also showed interest in Medina, calling him up to their U-20 training camp which he attended in March 2024.

Mendoza, 19, has amassed five goal contributions (2g/3a) for the Quakes' MLS NEXT Pro team, The Town FC, across 64 appearances (54 starts). Mendoza scored a goal and notched an assist out of a primarily defensive role this season, as TTFC reached the Western Conference Semifinals, adding another assist in the MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs. In 2024, he led the team and was among the league leaders in minutes played. The East San Jose native was signed to the Quakes' first team as a Homegrown Player on May 16, 2023.

Internationally, the midfielder recently joined Medina at the U.S. U-20 Domestic Identity Camp in Florida this September. He also helped the U.S. U-17 National Team qualify for the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

U.S. U-20 MNT (2006) ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB; HOMETOWN):

Goalkeepers (2): Julian Eyestone (Brentford/ENG; Dallas, Texas), Andrew Rick (Philadelphia Union; Berwyn, Pa.)

Defenders (7): Freddie Anderson (Cork City/IRE; Manchester, England), Riley Dalgado (LA Galaxy; Redondo Beach, Calif.), Christian Diaz (LAFC; San Bernardino, Calif.), Stuart Hawkins (Seattle Sounders; Fox Island, Wash.), Sawyer Jura (Portland Timbers; Bend, Ore.), Owen Presthus (Hartford Athletic; Columbus, Ohio), Tahir Reid-Brown (Orlando City; Orlando, Fla.)

Midfielders (6): Devon Decorte (Anderlecht/BEL; Southampton, Pa.), Diego Garcia Murillo (FC Dallas; El Paso, Texas), Eric Klein (New England Revolution; Manheim, Pa.), Cruz Medina (San Jose Earthquakes; San Francisco, Calif.), Edwyn Mendoza (San Jose Earthquakes; San Jose, Calif.), CJ Olney (Philadelphia Union; Hillsborough, N.J.)

Forwards (5): Micah Burton (Austin FC; Mound View, Minn.), Bajung Darboe (Bayern Munich/GER; Madison, Wisc.), Edward Davis (Philadelphia Union; Los Angeles, Calif.), Keyrol Figueroa (Liverpool/ENG; Warrington, England), Andre Gitau (Mainz/GER; Richmond, Texas)

Check out the San Jose Earthquakes Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Major League Soccer Stories from November 9, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central