Three Philadelphia Union Players To Join Concacaf Olympic Qualifying Roster

CHESTER, Pa. (March 8, 2020) – Philadelphia Union, in conjunction with U.S. Soccer, announced today that Brenden Aaronson, Mark McKenzie and Matt Freese have been selected to the final roster for the Concacaf Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Guadalajara, Mexico. The tournament begins on March 20 and concludes with the finals on April 1.

The United States opens their group stage against Costa Rica on March 20, followed by a match against Dominican Republic on March 23 and will end the group stage versus Mexico on March 26.

The Union players, occupying three spots on the 20-man roster, will depart for Mexico immediately following the club’s match vs. LAFC.

Aaronson joins the Olympic Qualifying roster after being called in to the U.S. Men’s National Team January camp in Bradenton, Florida where he earned his first cap in a friendly against Costa Rica. Aaronson featured in the starting XI and played for 66 minutes in the 1-0 victory. He received his first call-up to the senior National Team on Oct 2, ahead of a pair of Nations League matches against Cuba on Oct. 11 (7-0 W) and Canada on Oct. 15 (2-0 L). In 2019 he was called up by the U.S. U-23 squad for the United International Football Festival, where they placed third overall after defeating United Gran Canaria. Previously, he was called in to the U-23’s from Sept. 1-10 as part of training camp ahead of the 2020 Concacaf Olympic Qualifying Championship. As the second youngest player on the team, Aaronson started the friendly against Japan (Sept. 9), adding an assist in a 2-0 victory.

McKenzie also most recently attended the senior team January Camp in Bradenton where he earned his first cap in the friendly against Costa Rica (Feb.1), playing 28 minutes after coming on as a sub in the 1-0 victory. He received his first senior team call-up to the 2019 January camp. Last November he joined Aaronson for the United International Football Festival, where he earned the start against Brazil. Taking part in the U-23 camp in Miami, Florida, held last October, McKenzie started in what was a 6-1 victory for the U.S in a friendly against El Salvador. In May he was named captain of the U-20 squad during the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland, a tournament the U.S. finished as quarterfinalists.

Freese has been a staple on the U-23 squad over the course of the past year. He received his first call-up as a member of the Union in September 2019 ahead of training camp in Chula Vista, CA. During the camp, he started a friendly vs. Japan, keeping a clean sheet for 45 minutes. He once again joined the team for October camp where he earned the start against El Salvador, keeping a clean sheet for 46 minutes of action. Most recently, the U-23’s took part in the United International Football Festival where Freese played 90 minutes against Brazil (Nov. 14).