Wake Forest Athletics
Men's Soccer Notebook
7/19/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
July 19, 2012
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Incoming freshman Collin Martin has earned a spot on the U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team for the Northern Ireland Milk Cup, while former Wake Forest men's soccer player Michael Lahoud is making an impact with the Philadelphia Union. Below are three stories highlighting each player.
U.S. U-20 MNT Head Coach Tab Ramos Names 18 Player Roster for Northern Ireland Milk Cup
Courtesy U.S. Soccer
CHICAGO (July 13, 2012) - U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team head coach Tab Ramos has named an 18-player roster for the team's upcoming trip to the Northern Ireland Milk Cup for three games against international opposition on July 21-26.
The U.S., two-time winner of the competition, faces Denmark at 7 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET) on Saturday, July 21, at Scroggy Road in Limavady. Two days later, the U.S. faces Turkey on July 23 at 8 p.m. local time (3 p.m. ET) at the Showgrounds in Ballymena.
Also participating in the six-team tournament are hosts Northern Ireland, Chile and Mexico. The playoff games to determine final placement in the event, including the championship, will take place on Thursday, July 26.
Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (2): 1-Cody Cropper (Unattached; Athens, Ga.), 18-Kendall McIntosh (Santa Clara; Santa Clara, Calif.)
DEFENDERS (6): 5-AJ Cochran (Wisconsin; St. Louis, Mo.), 14-Holden Fender (Concorde Fire; Marietta, Ga.), 4-Eric Miller (Creighton; Woodbury, Minn.), 3-Juan Pablo Ocegueda (UANL Tigres; Riverside, Calif.), 2-Boyd Okwuonu (North Carolina; Edmund, Okla.), 15-Walker Zimmerman (Furman; Lawrenceville, Ga.)
MIDFIELDERS (6): 8-Benji Joya (Santos Laguna; San Jose, Calif.), 12-Mikey Lopez (North Carolina; Mission, Texas), 10- Collin Martin (D.C. United Academy; Chevy Chase, Md.), 16-Daniel Metzger (Maryland; Staten Island, N.Y.), 13-Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids Academy; Brighton, Colo.), 6-Wil Trapp (Akron; Gahanna, Ohio)
FORWARDS (4): 11-Daniel Cuevas (Santos Laguna; Sacramento, Calif.), 9-Alfred Koroma (Solar Chelsea SC; Southlake, Texas), 7-Victor Pineda (Chicago Fire; Bolingbrook, Ill.), 17-Mario Rodriguez (1. FC Kaiserslautern; North Hollywood, Calif.)
Lahoud Energized by Passionate Philly Fan Base
By Andy Jasner, philadelphiaunion.com
Michael Lahoud hasn't been with the Philadelphia Union all that long. But it has been long enough to see how passionate the city is about the Union.
What a sight.
"These fans here are something else," Lahoud told philadelphiaunion.com. "I mean, they're amazing. Everywhere you go, you see the Union shirts and jerseys. The fans care so much and it makes you as a player want to give everything you have and even more. I have been incredibly impressed with their excitement and their passion and I can tell you that we're going to do everything we can to win as many games as possible."
Lahoud began the season on the West Coast with Chivas USA, who drafted him ninth overall in the first round of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft.
Earlier this season, the news came: Lahoud was being traded to the Union for defender Danny Califf.
"You're always surprised when something happens, but it's part of the business and you have to be prepared," said Lahoud, who started 46 matches for Chivas USA with two goals and seven assists. "It's not easy making a change, but you have to be a professional. I knew coming to Philadelphia that I was coming to a very good club and an organization that cares about winning. I just tried to come in with a positive attitude and work hard every day."
Lahoud has played in five league matches with three starts in Philadelphia.
Ten freshmen to watch in 2012
By Travis Clark, ESNN
While some of the best players in the high school class of 2012 have elected to pursue professional options at home and overseas, there's still a tremendous infusion of talent set to hit the men's college ranks this fall.
Here's a look at ten freshmen that could do big things this coming college season:
MF Collin Martin, Wake Forest
Thanks to a bit of advanced planning and motivation, the 17-year-old D.C. United Academy midfielder Martin graduated from high school after his junior year and is enrolled to play at Wake Forest after competing in this weekend's Milk Cup with the U20 MNT.
The technically gifted attacking midfielder is going to be pushed by the physical nature of the game, but it'll help him progress and learn to adapt at a higher level. He does face an uphill battle for playing time on a stacked Wake Forest team.
