The roster for the US Under-23 national team continues to feature a heavy MLS influence, with coach Andreas Herzog naming 12 players with MLS ties to a 23-man roster for Wednesday's friendly against Mexico (11pm ET, UniMás, UDN).
The match is part of both teams' preparations for this fall's CONCACAF qualifying tournament for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil. Players will train April 19-21 ahead of the match at StubHub Center in Carson, California.
As a mid-week match played between MLS games, the camp has an understandable Western Conference tilt, with all 10 MLS players coming from Western Conference clubs and 9 of the 23 rostered players hailing from California.
The Colorado Rapids (Shane O'Neill, Dillon Serna), LA Galaxy (Oscar Sorto, Jose Villarreal) and Real Salt Lake (Luis Gil, Boyd Okwuonu) each have two players on the team. They are joined by Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Jon Kempin, currently on loan to the San Antonio Scorpions; Vancouver Whitecaps defender Christian Dean; FC Dallas defender Walker Zimmerman; and San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Fatai Alashe.
The camp also includes Seattle Sounders academy forward Jordan Morris, the Stanford sophomore who scored in his first start for the senior national team last Wednesday against Mexico, and New York Red Bulls II midfielder Dan Metzger.
Former Chicago Fire midfielder Benji Joya is one of four Mexico-based players in the squad, while forward Mario Rodriguez is currently on the books at Germany's Borussia Mönchengladbach.
UCSB's Sam Strong is the second college player selected, along with Morris, while Alfred Koroma Shams of the Austin Aztex joins Metzger as a USL representative.
US U-23 Roster
GOALKEEPERS (2): Cody Cropper (Southampton), Jon Kempin (San Antonio Scorpions on loan from Sporting Kansas City)
DEFENDERS (8): Christian Dean (Vancouver Whitecaps), Juan Pablo Ocegueda (Oaxaca), Boyd Okwuonu (Real Salt Lake), Shane O'Neill (Colorado Rapids), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids), Oscar Sorto (LA Galaxy), Sam Strong (UCSB), Walker Zimmerman (FC Dallas)
MIDFIELDERS (5): Fatai Alashe (San Jose Earthquakes), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Guido (Tijuana), Benji Joya (Santos Laguna), Dan Metzger (New York Red Bulls II)
FORWARDS (5): Alonso Hernandez (Monterrey), Alfred Koroma Shams (Austin Aztex), Jordan Morris (Stanford, Seattle Sounders academy), Mario Rodriguez (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Jose Villarreal (LA Galaxy)
US U-23 Schedule
March 27 at Bosnia & Herzegovina - W 5-2
March 31 at Denmark - L 0-1
April 22 vs. Mexico - 11pm ET, UniMás, UDN
May 27 at France - Toulon Tournament
May 29 Netherlands - Toulon Tournament
May 31 Costa Rica - Toulon Tournament
June 2 Qatar - Toulon Tournament
Oct. 1-13 - CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying
