New York Red Bulls forward and Red Bulls Academy product Juan Agudelo made his United States Men’s National Team debut on Wednesday in an international friendly against South Africa and scored the game-winning goal in the 85th minute to help lift the U.S. to a 1-0 win at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa. On the goal, Agudelo slipped a pass to Mikkel Diskerud and made a run into the penalty box before receiving it back and firing it off the underside of the crossbar and into the net. With the strike, the 17-year-old Agudelo became the youngest player to score in U.S. national team history in the modern era. Agudelo entered the game in the 60th minute as a substitute for Robbie Rogers.
Red Bulls defender and Major League Soccer Rookie of the Year finalist Tim Ream also earned his first cap for the national team, starting and playing 67 minutes.
The first Red Bulls Academy product to start and feature in a Major League Soccer game, Agudelo became the fourth youngest player in League history to start a playoff match when he had a breakout performance in a 1-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes on Oct. 30. Less than a week later, the Barnegat, NJ native started again and earned an assist in New York’s 3-1 loss to San Jose on Nov. 4. Signed to the Red Bulls first team on March 26, 2010, Agudelo appeared in two regular season matches and three Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup games. On the international level, Agudelo, one of the first two alumni from U.S. Soccer’s Development Academy to participate in a full National Team training camp and the first to earn a cap, has featured for the U.S. Under-20 National Team in several competitions and scored in the Milk Cup Championship in Northern Ireland over the summer, helping the Americans win the tournament.
Ream was one of two players in MLS this year and one of three rookies all-time to start and play in every minute of every regular season game. The former Saint Louis University product tallied one goal and helped the team concede an Eastern Conference-low 29 goals and earn 13 shutouts – both of which are franchise records. Along with the 30-game regular season schedule, Ream also started in New York’s two playoff games. The 23-year-old was drafted in the second round (18th overall) in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft after playing four seasons at Saint Louis and being named the 2009 Atlantic 10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
