The U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team put together some impressive performances while picking up a pair of friendly wins.
After convening on February 4 in Orlando, the U.S. U-18s took down Costa Rica twice in as many games. The first of those matches was a 2-1 victory on Friday while the U.S. followed that performance up with a comprehensive 3-0 victory on Sunday.
The first match saw the U.S. come from behind as U-17 World Cup veteran Indiana Vassilev fired the equalizer just before halftime. In the second half, Barcelona product Konrad de la Fuente gave the U.S. the lead, scoring from a free kick to seal the win.
Konrad de la Fuente makes it 2-1 USA on a free kick from the top of the box. #USMNT pic.twitter.com/SqVivnuwuM
— J.R. Eskilson (@JREskilson) February 9, 2018
The second match was more straight-forward from the U.S., who cruised to a clean sheet and a victory. Goals from Roberto Hategan and Stefan Stojanovic gave the U.S. the lead before halftime before the LA Galaxy’s Ulysses Llanez added a third in the second half.
Here’s a closer look at the full roster for the camp and friendly victories:
GOALKEEPERS: David Ochoa (Real Salt Lake; Oxnard, Calif.), Jacob Schick (Chargers Soccer Club; Palm Harbor, Fla.), Kris Shakes (Philadelphia Union; Austin, Texas)
DEFENDERS: Julian Araujo (Barca Academy; Lompoc, Calif.), Nico Benalcazar (New York City FC; Wilton, Conn.), Ian Hoffmann (Karlsuher SC; Karlsruher, Germany), Nelson Martinez (D.C. United; Woodbrigde, Va.), David Mendoza (Chicago Fire; Gage Park, Ill.), Leonardo Sepulveda (LA Galaxy; Corona, Calif.)
MIDFIELDERS: Taylor Booth (Unattached; Eden, Utah), Cameron Duke (Sporting KC; Overland Park, Kan.) Roberto Hategan (Sacramento Republic F.C.; Chicago, Ill.), Aidan Morris (Crew SC Academy; Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), Owen Otasowie (Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.; New York, N.Y.), Marcelo Palomino (Houston Dynamo; Houston, Texas), Stuart Ritchie (FC Groningen; Pleaston, Calif.) Thomas Roberts (FC Dallas; Little Rock, Ark.), Indiana Vassilev (Aston Villa F.C.; Savannah, Ga.)
FORWARDS: Konrad De La Fuente (FC Barcelona; Barcelona, Spain), Jalen Hawkins (FC Bayern Munich; Regensburg, Germany), Ulysses Llanez (LA Galaxy; Lynwood, Calif.), Bryan Reynolds (FC D