Philadelphia Union homegrown product Zach Pfeffer has been called into the United States Under-20 Men’s National Team for a domestic fitness camp in Bradenton, Fla., Dec. 3-10.
Pfeffer, 19, last appeared for the U.S. U-20 MNT on April 20 after falling to Argentina’s River Plate, 2-0, in the 2014 Dallas Cup final. The Dresher, Pa., native tallied one goal and two assists over the course of four appearances at the Dallas Cup.
Pfeffer made history in the Union’s final game of the 2014 season, becoming the first homegrown player in franchise history to score a goal. The second half substitute made a well-timed run into the box and received a pass from Amobi Okugo before slotting the ball home in the 85th minute.
The first homegrown player in Philadelphia Union history, Pfeffer signed with the Union on Dec. 22, 2010 at the age of 15. He was the fourth youngest player ever to sign a homegrown contract (Adu, Ibrahim, Fagundez).
The group features 10 field players, most who play for Major League Soccer clubs. With a little more than a month before the start of the 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship in Jamaica, head coach Tab Ramos sees this stretch as a valuable time to keep his side playing at a high rate with the MLS season nearly in the books.
“It’s finally getting down to that time where we have to focus on the final stages of World Cup qualifying,” Ramos said. “At this point, because the MLS season has ended for a lot of teams, we needed to bring the players who are not continuing to train with their teams and do a fitness camp. Some of the players have been off, and we want to have them catch up a little bit with the guys that we have in Europe.
Following the fitness camp, the U.S. U-20 MNT will conduct a foreign training camp in Honduras later this month starting on Dec. 15, followed by a domestic preparation camp before the CONCACAF U-20 Championship.
Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (0): None
DEFENDERS (4): Conor Donovan (North Carolina State; Fuquay Varina, N.C.), Matthew Miazga (New York Red Bulls; Clifton, N.J.), Shaquell Moore (Unattached; Powder Springs, Ga.), Tyler Turner (Orlando City SC; West Haven, Conn.)
MIDFIELDERS (3): Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas; Plano, Texas), Marco Delgado (Toronto FC; Glendora, Calif.), Romain Gall (Columbus Crew; Herndon, Va.)
FORWARDS (3): Bradford Jamieson IV (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.), Zach Pfeffer (Union; Dresher, Pa.), Tommy Thompson (San Jose Earthquakes; Loomis, Calif.)
