U.S. Soccer today announced that it has called in Sounders FC forward Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez and Tacoma Defiance defender Sam Rogers to its U-23 Summer Training Camp. Both players will report to the camp from June 9-16 outside Salt Lake City in Herriman, Utah. Head Coach Jason Kreis has called in 21 players for the domestic camp.
Ocampo-Chavez has been a mainstay on the U.S. Youth National Team circuit ever since he joined Sounders Academy midway through 2016. He helped lead the Stars and Stripes to the 2016 Torneo Delle Nazioni in Italy, defeating the likes of England and Portugal. Later that summer, Ocampo-Chavez guided the United States to a second-place finish at the 2015 CONCACAF Championships. The young forward has been a key component of the U-17 National Team since the start of the new cycle, earning callups to the 2017 and 2018 Nike Friendlies, where he squared off against some of the top nations in the world. During the summer of 2018, Ocampo-Chavez scored goals against Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. He most recently scored four goals at the 2019 CONCACAF U-17 Championship, including a brace against Guadaloupe. The 17-year-old has appeared in six games for Tacoma Defiance this season, including four starts, and last Wednesday made his debut inclusion in the 18 for the First Team at Montreal.
Rogers received several call ups to the U.S. U-20 National Team last season, including one for the CONCACAF Championship. He has appeared in 43 games over three seasons for Sounders FC’s USL side, making 42 starts. The centerback has played 3,573 minutes for the USL outfit, including 510 minutes in seven matches this season. Rogers played a career-high 2,250 minutes across 25 starts in 2017, recording two goals and one assist. The 20-year-old was named to the USL’s 20 Under 20 list in each of the last two seasons.
The gathering in Herriman marks another step in the U-23 MNT's journey to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo as the USA aims to qualify for its first Men's Olympic Football Tournament since 2008. The U.S. will look to secure its Olympic berth early next year as one of the top two teams at the 2020 Concacaf Olympic Qualifying Championship.
