Five members of the U15 Red Bull Academy Team have been selected to participate in the week-long U15 Boys National Team Camp in Carson, CA from March 13-20. Goalkeepers Evan Louro and Gianni Carillo, defenders Billy Stevens and Kevin Politz and forward Wes Wade are the Red Bull Academy products who have been chosen by US Soccer to showcase their talents along with other players from across the country at the Home Depot Center in California.
"These camps are a great opportunity for our academy players to compete against the top players in the country and they are all very honored to be invited," said U15 Head Coach Jeff Zaun.
The upcoming camp in March will be the third camp that U.S. Soccer has hosted for the U15 Boys National Team this year. In all, eight members of the U15 Red Bull Academy Team have been selected this year to participate in the camps. Red Bull Academy teammates Wilson Rios, Chris Lema and Theo Miller have participated in previous National Team camps, though they will not participate in the upcoming camp in March.
In addition to the success of the U15 team, the U14 Academy Team has made a big splash locally in recent days by winning a local tournament, in preparation for their upcoming season, at St. Peter’s College in Jersey City, NJ.
During their opening game, the Red Bulls dominated possession against their opponent, Downtown United SC, but failed to take advantage of their opportunities and settled for a 0-0 tie. The Red Bulls continued their strong play in the second game against Wayne SC and were able to convert on a number of scoring chances to come away with a 7-0 win. The 7-0 win vaulted the Red Bulls into the tournament’s championship game where they took on Garfield SC. Once again, the Red Bulls dominated play and were able to capitalize on their opponents mistakes to capture the 4-1 tournament clinching victory. Andrew Lombard, Kyle Gruno, Cameron Allen and John Antunes led the defensive effort throughout the tournament and forward Jonas Halvorsen was instrumental in the Red Bull offensive attack, being named tournament MVP.
"It was very beneficial for our players to play three games this weekend to get ready for our opening match next weekend. I think we showed progress with every match," said U14 Head Coach Antonio Meza.
