Sports stats



Recent U.S. Men's National Team Call-Up to Play for Scorpions

March 20, 2015 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
San Antonio Scorpions News Release


SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Friday, March 20, 2015) - The San Antonio Scorpions have agreed to terms with Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer (MLS) on terms of a loan deal for recent U.S. Men's National Team call-up Jon Kempin, team President/GM Howard Cornfield and Head Coach Alen Marcina announced today.

"We are very pleased to welcome Jon to the Scorpions for the upcoming season," said Marcina. "Jon has experience at the MLS level, in CONCACAF Champions League, and recently with the U.S. Men's National team. John has very good qualities for a young goalkeeper and we are excited to have him as part of our team for this season."

Kempin, 21, is about to start his sixth professional season after joining the U.S. Men's National Team this past January. The Leawood, Kansas, native made five competitive appearances for Sporting Kansas City in 2014, including his debut in MLS and the CONCACAF Champions League, while also spending time on loan at OKC Energy FC of the United Soccer League.

Kempin earned back-to-back MLS Save of the Week honors in his first two MLS appearances and was named MVP of the 2014 MLS Chipotle Homegrown Game. In doing so, he became the youngest at his position to play in MLS since 2012 and entered the record books as the youngest goalkeeper to start an MLS match in Sporting KC's history.

"We are extremely excited that Jon will be joining the Scorpions family in 2015 as he'll be the first player in team history to have experience with the senior U.S. Men's National Team," said Cornfield. "He is a tremendous talent that Jurgen Klinsmann has his eyes on and we think he'll make an immediate impact on our squad."

A product of the Sporting KC Academy, Kempin became the team's first homegrown player signing at age 17. He made his competitive debut during the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and helped Orlando City SC claim the USL PRO Championship in 2013, making 34 saves in nine games while on loan with the Lions.

The Scorpions have also agreed to terms with rookie Tyler Gibson. The midfielder played college soccer for the Charlotte 49ers, where he was a four-year starter and was named an Academic All-American his senior year.

With the signings, the Scorpions now have eighteen players on the roster for 2015:

GK - Sattler, Kempin

D - DeRoux, James, Zea, Attakora

M - Menjivar, Castillo, Forbes, Soto, Cruz, Chavez, Tsiskaridze, Gibson

F - Elizondo, Hassli, Zahorski, Palomeque

The 2015 San Antonio Scorpions season is presented by deeproot Funds. The Scorpions will play the Costa Rica U-23 National Team in an international friendly March 28th at Toyota Field. San Antonio will begin defense of their 2014 North American Soccer League (NASL) Championship when the NASL Spring Season kicks off on April 4 at Toyota Field against the Tampa Bay Rowdies. For information on Scorpions season tickets, call 210-495-8686 or visit SAScorpions.com.

• Discuss this story on the North American Soccer League message board...

North American Soccer League Stories from March 20, 2015


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.

Other Recent San Antonio Scorpions Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central