MLS LA Galaxy

Galaxy's Ricky Lewis One Step away from CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament

Published on January 22, 2004 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
LA Galaxy News Release


CARSON, CA (Thursday, January 22, 2004) - Los Angeles Galaxy defender Ricky Lewis is part of the 22-man roster named by U.S. Under-23 National Team Head Coach Glenn "Mooch" Myernick for a training camp in Guadalajara, Mexico from January 22-31. The camp will mark the side's final training camp in preparation for the CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament, which will be played in Guadalajara from February 2-12 and will send its two finalists to the Olympic Football Tournament Athens 2004.

"We are certainly delighted to see Ricky get an opportunity to continue to train with the Olympic team," said L.A. Galaxy Vice President/General Manager Doug Hamilton. "As an organization, it brings us great pride to see our players competing for their respective nations in all age groups."

Lewis and his Galaxy teammate Scot Thompson were previously with Myernick's team for a Training Camp at The Home Depot Center from January 3-17. After evaluating players at that extensive camp, Myernick chose the 22 players to make the trip to Mexico for the final 10 days of training leading up to the tournament. Of the 22 selected for the training camp, 20 will go on to play in the final round of qualifying.

"Since I first played soccer as a kid, I have always dreamed about playing in the Olympics," Lewis said. "Realizing the possibility that it is just a step away is very exciting to me; I am really looking forward to the final camp in Guadalajara."

The Los Angeles Galaxy selected Lewis in the second round of the 2003 MLS SuperDraft (20th overall) from Clemson University. The rookie played in 13 regular season matches, started seven and played a total of 798 minutes. The physical 21-year-old defender played four complete matches in 2003, including back-to-back overtime road performances against the Chicago Fire on October 4 and the Kansas City Wizards on October 11.

Lewis, a native of Spring, Texas, played in both matches for the USA in their first phase, round-robin qualifying series against Caribbean rivals St. Kitts & Nevis last November. The USA won the first match at Warner Park in Basseterre on November 15 by a 6-0 margin, before returning home four days later for the second leg, a 4-0 victory at The Maryland Soccerplex in Germantown, Maryland that gave them the series 10-0 on aggregate.

He appeared for the Red-White and Blue's U-23's four times in 2002, making three starts and playing a total of 219 minutes over those matches.

Los Angeles Galaxy tickets are now on sale for the 2004 season at The Home Depot Center, who open their ninth season in MLS with a match against the New England Revolution at 7 pm (PT) on Saturday April 3, 2004. For more information or to purchase your 2004 Los Angeles Galaxy season tickets, please call toll-free 1-877-3GALAXY.

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