MLS Red Bull New York

MetroStars Weekly Report

Published on December 8, 2003 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Red Bull New York News Release


U.S. U-20s Advance to Quarterfinals with 2-0 Win Over Ivory Coast: MetroStars midfielder Ricardo Clark helped the United States Under-20 National Team advance to the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Youth Championship with a 2-0 win over the Ivory Coast in the Round of 16 this evening at Al-Maktoum Stadium in Dubai, UAE. The victory advances the U.S. to the quarterfinals of a FIFA World Youth Championship for the first time since the tournament increased to 24 teams in 1997.

The 20-year-old Clark played all 90 minutes in the contest stifling the creative attack of the Ivory Coast, while teammate Mike Magee was on the bench available to Manager Thomas Rongen. Clark has started all four games for the U.S., totaling 350 minutes of a possible 360. Magee has scored one goal in the prestigious tournament and has played in two games.

The U.S. moves on to face Argentina on Friday, December 12 at noon ET (9:00 p.m. local time). Argentina defeated Egypt 2-1 today on a golden goal to put the international power in the quarterfinals. The game will be televised live, starting at 11:55 a.m. ET on Galavision. Both teams lead the competition with 10 goals scored in four games.

The U.S. advanced to the Round of 16 by finishing with two wins, one loss, and no ties (2-1-0) and winning Group F. The squad started the tournament with a 3-1 win over Paraguay on November 29, which saw Magee tally the winning goal. After the decisive win, the U.S. dropped a 3-1 result to Germany, before a confident 2-0 win over South Korea in the final group game.

Gaven Called to Under-23 Squad: MetroStars 17-year-old midfielder Eddie Gaven has been called to the United States Under-23 National Team by Manager Glen Myernick for the team's upcoming week-long training camp at the National Training Center in Carson, CA. The camp will start on Friday, December 12 and run concurrently with the full national team training camp. After having the holidays off, the U-23s will next regroup in January 2004 in Carson for a two-week camp before heading down to Guadalajara in late January for final preparations for the final round of CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying from February 2-12, 2004 in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Gaven helped the U.S. advance in Olympic Qualifying in mid-November with a 10-0 aggregate win over St. Kitts & Nevis. The New Jersey native scored a penalty kick in the second leg of the series after entering the game in the 60th minute for Columbus Crew forward Edson Buddle.

Clark and Magee Nominated: MetroStars midfielder Ricardo Clark and forward Mike Magee were both named by the U.S. Soccer Federation as finalists for the 2003 Chevrolet Young Male Athlete of the Year. Fans can vote for the duo by logging on to http://www.ussoccer.com/chevyathleteoftheyear/. U.S. Soccer and Chevrolet created the Young Male and Female Athlete of the Year awards in 1998 to highlight up-and-coming stars within the U.S. Youth National Team system. A player may only win the Young Athlete of the Year award once.

Mathis and Walker Called Up: U.S. Soccer announced that MetroStars forward Clint Mathis and goalkeeper Jonny Walker have been called to the U.S. Men's National Team training camp from December 12-19 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. The week-long camp marks the senior team's first visit to the National Training Center since the facility opened its doors on June 7. U.S. Manager Bruce Arena has called 18 players to Carson, who will train alongside the U.S. Under-23 MNT as that team prepares for final round CONCACAF Olympic qualifying to be held February 2-12 in Mexico.

Mathis has garnered 30 caps in his career with the National Team, scoring 11 goals in those appearances, while Walker has yet to record a cap with the U.S. squad. This camp marks Walker's first ever call-up to the squad.

Mathis finished the year with 22 appearances for the Metros in the regular season notching nine goals and recording one assist.

Walker on the other hand made his Metro debut on July 19th after being signed by the club on July 14th to fill the void between the pipes left from Tim Howard's transfer to Manchester United. Walker had a stellar season for the Metros as he led the league in goals against average at 0.95. In 14 contests he recorded four shutouts and made 55 saves.

Check out the Red Bull New York Statistics

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



Major League Soccer Stories from December 8, 2003


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