Dec. 21, 2010
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Former Notre Dame men’s soccer All-American Ryan Miller is one of 24 players selected to the U.S. National Team training camp in preparation for the squad’s first match of 2011, a friendly against fellow FIFA World Cup finalists Chile on Jan. 22 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
Miller, a defender, becomes the first Fighting Irish men’s player, either former or current, selected to compete with the U.S. Senior National Team. As a senior at Notre Dame in 2007, Miller earned All-America honors. In addition, he garnered first-team all-BIG EAST accolades and was tabbed an Academic All-American. Miller played in a program-record 91 games, including 89 starts, during his Fighting Irish career. He registered 25 points on seven goals and 11 assists.
The Columbus Crew selected Miller in the third round (31st overall pick) of the 2008 Major League Soccer SuperDraft. He currently plays for Halmstads BK in the Swedish top division Allsvenskan.
Kickoff against Chile is set for 6:00 p.m. (PT), with broadcast information to be announced at a later date. Fans can follow the game live via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker or on twitter @ussoccer.
“The timing is right to assess many of the younger players and to broaden the player pool as we look forward to the next three years,” said U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bob Bradley. “These extended camps give the coaching staff an opportunity to work with these players closely, and at the same time expose them to what the environment and expectations are like at the international level. We have a good feel for the veteran players in the pool, several of whom are coming off long seasons, and we certainly expect many of them to be part of the program for the important tournaments this year.”
The annual camp held in January for players in their offseason is a largely domestic-based group that includes 20 players who ply their trade in the United States, and the coaching staff is taking full advantage of the opportunity to assess new talent. With an average age of just above 23 years old, half of the players can earn their first cap for the full team.
Log onto ussoccer.com for more information on the U.S. squad.
U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (4): Dominic Cervi (Celtic), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Matt Pickens (Colorado Rapids), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (9): A.J. DeLaGarza (Los Angeles Galaxy), Sean Franklin (Los Angeles Galaxy), Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles Galaxy), Ugo Ihemelu (FC Dallas), Zach Loyd (FC Dallas), Ryan Miller (Halmstads BK), Tim Ream (New York Red Bulls), Anthony Wallace (Colorado Rapids), Marvell Wynne (Colorado Rapids)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Eric Alexander (FC Dallas), Alejandro Bedoya (Ã-rebro), Sam Cronin (San Jose Earthquakes), Mikkel Diskerud (Stabaek), Jeff Larentowicz (Colorado Rapids), Dax McCarty (D.C. United), Brek Shea (FC Dallas)
FORWARDS (4): Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls), Justin Braun (Chivas USA), Teal Bunbury (Sporting Kansas City), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
–ND–