MLS Columbus Crew SC

Four Crew Players Named to U-23 Men's National Team

Published on January 23, 2004 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Columbus Crew SC News Release


COLUMBUS, Ohio (Friday, January 23) - U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team head coach Glenn "Mooch" Myernick announced that four Columbus Crew players will be a part of the 22-player roster that will be in Guadalajara, Mexico, for the 2004 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament from Feb. 2-12.

The team arrived in Mexico yesterday and will train before Myernick must cut down the roster to 20 players by the Jan. 31 deadline imposed by CONCACAF. The four Crew players who are apart of the 22-man roster are forward Edson Buddle, midfielder Kyle Martino and recently drafted defenders Chad Marshall and Chris Wingert. The Crew and D.C. United lead the team with four players each.

"All four of those players are very deserving," said Crew Head Coach Greg Andrulis. "The training and experience they are getting will pay dividends as we head toward the 2004 season."

The U.S. U-23s will first face Panama on Tuesday, Feb. 3, followed by matches against Canada on Thursday, Feb. 5 and Honduras on Saturday, Feb. 7. All three U.S. opening round matches in Group A will be played at the 10,000-seat Estadio Tres de Marzo (in the Zapopan area of Guadalajara) and kickoff at 8 p.m. (local/CT). U.S. games can be followed by fans live via ussoccer.com's MatchTracker, presented by Philips Electronics. The tournament opens on Feb. 2 with Group B action featuring Costa Rica, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and the host nation at Estadio Jalisco. The top two teams from each group will meet in the single-elimination semifinals on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at Estadio Jalisco, with the winner of Group A meeting the second-place team from Group B, and the winner of Group B meeting the second-place team from Group A. The two semi-final winners will earn automatic berths to Athens 2004 and meet in the final on Feb. 12.

The U.S. roster is led by current U.S. Men's National Team stars Landon Donovan (San Jose Earthquakes), DaMarcus Beasley (Chicago Fire) and Bobby Convey (D.C. United), all of whom played in a 1-1 draw with Denmark on Jan. 18 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

Buddle, who finished 11th in MLS scoring with 10 goals and four assists, finished second on the U-23s in scoring in 2003 with seven points (3 g, 1 a), including two goals in the team's 6-0 win over St. Kitts & Nevis on Nov. 15. Joining veteran midfielder Martino, the Crew also boast a pair of U-23 defenders and recent 2004 MLS SuperDraft picks in Marshall and Wingert. Marshall, who helped the U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team finish fifth at the FIFA World Youth Championship in the United Arab Emirates in December, was selected with the second overall pick in the draft behind only 14-year-old phenom Freddy Adu (D.C. United). Wingert, who was named the 2003 M.A.C./Hermann Trophy award winner on Jan. 9 as the nation's top Division I men's college soccer player, was picked 12th overall by the Crew after helping St. John's to the NCAA championship game, where they fell 2-1 to Indiana.

The U.S. Under-23 MNT began the road to the 2004 Olympics in November, when they defeated the Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts & Nevis in the second round of CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying by an aggregate score of 10-0 in a home-and-home series after receiving a bye in the first round.

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Major League Soccer Stories from January 23, 2004


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