November 17, 2003
FURMAN STANDOUT CLINT DEMPSEY,
FORMER PALADIN RICARDO CLARK SET TO LEAD U.S. UNDER-20 TEAM AT FIFA WORLD YOUTH
CHAMPIONSHIP
Greenville, S.C. -- Furman University midfielder Clint Dempsey and former Paladin midfielder and current New York/New Jersey MetroStars standout Ricardo Clark have been named to the United States Under-20 Men's National Team that will represent the U.S. at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Soccer Championship in the United Arab Emirates from Nov. 27-Dec. 19 U.S. coach Thomas Rongen announced this week.
"This is a great honor for Clint to be selected to play for his country," said Furman head coach Doug Allison. "It is a chance for Clint to fine tune his game against some of the top players in the world."
Dempsey, a junior from Nacogdoches, Texas, has made eight previous appearances with the U-20 MNT, including the L'Alcudia International Tournament in Spain this past August. The midfielder totalled seven goals and five assists for the Paladins this season and 17 goals and 19 assists during his three-year career at Furman. Dempsey, who has helped lead Furman to two NCAA tournament appearances and a round of 16 finish in 2002, is a two-time All-Southern Conference selection, 2001 SoCon Freshman of the Year pick and 2002 NSCAA Second Team All-American.
Clark, a key member of Furman's 19-3-1 team of 2002 and second overal pick in the MLS Draft this past summer, played in 28 of 32 matches this season for the MetroStars to lead the team in minutes played. The Jonesboro, Ga., native tallied three goals and one assists in his rookie season in the MLS. Clark leads this year's U-20 roster with 42 international appearances over last two years. During his two-year career at Furman, Clark garnered 2002 NSCAA and College Soccer News First Team All-American honors, while leading the Paladins to two SoCon titles and a 36-8-1 record.
The 20-man roster for the FIFA Youth World Championship also includes D.C. United midfielder Bobby Convey who topped the U.S. Men¹s National Team this year with 15 appearances and snagged his first goal of his career with a dramatic game-winning strike against Costa Rica in the Third Place match of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
The U.S. is in Group F of the 24-team tournament along with Paraguay, Germany and South Korea. The United States is scheduled to play all of its opening round matches in AbuDhabi, United Arab Emirates, beginning with its November 29th clash against Paraguay.
U.S. Under-20 Men¹s National Team FIFA Youth World Championship Schedule
Date Opponent Venue Kickoff Television (Galavison) November 29 Paraguay Abu Dhabi 5:45 p.m. local / 8:45 a.m. ET 8:30 a.m. ET (live), PT (delayed) December 2 Germany Abu Dhabi 5:45 p.m. local / 8:45 a.m. ET 8:30 a.m. ET (live), PT (delayed) December 5 South Korea Abu Dhabi 8:30 p.m. local / 11:30 a.m. ET 1:30 p.m. ET & PT (delayed) December 8,9 Round of 16* TBD TBD TBD December 12 Quarterfinals* TBD TBD TBD December 15 Semifinals* TBD TBD TBD December 19 Third Place Match* TBD TBD TBD December 19 Final* TBD TBD TBD No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate Hometown Club/College 12 Alvarez, Arturo M 5'9" 145 06/28/85 Houston, Texas San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) 17 Cameron, Knox F 6'3" 205 09/17/83 Bronx, N.Y. University of Michigan 11 Clark, Ricardo M 5'10" 140 05/21/83 Jonesboro, Ga. MetroStars (MLS) 5 Cochrane, Ryan D 6'0" 155 08/08/83 Portland, Ore. Santa Clara University 10 Convey, Bobby M 5'8" 150 05/27/83 Philadelphia, Pa. D.C. United (MLS) 1 Cronin, Steve GK 6'2" 190 05/28/83 Fair Oaks, Calif. Santa Clara University 14 Dempsey, Clint M/F 6'1" 170 03/09/83 Nacogdoches, Texas. Furman University 19 Grabavoy, Ned M/F 5'6" 145 07/01/83 New Lenox, Ill. Indiana Univeristy 20 Harvey, Jordan D 5'10" 160 01/28/84 Mission Viejo, Calif. UCLA 15 Johnson, David M 5'11" 160 01/16/84 Venice, Calif. Willem II (Holland) 7 Johnson, Ed F 6'0" 170 03/31/84 Palm Coast, Fla. Dallas Burn (MLS) 8 Klaas, Craig D 5'7" 165 08/23/83 Cherry Valley, Ill. University of Washington 13 Magee, Mike F 5'9" 150 09/02/84 Long Grove, Ill. MetroStars (MLS) 3 Mapp, Justin M 5'11" 160 10/18/84 Brandon, Miss. Chicago Fire (MLS) 4 Marshall, Chad D 6'2" 165 08/22/84 Riverside, Calif. Stanford University 16 Moor, Drew D 6'0" 170 01/15/84 Dallas, Texas Indiana University 9 Quaranta, Santino F 6'1" 185 10/14/84 Baltimore, Md. D.C. United (MLS) 6 Stone, Jordan M 5'9" 145 03/16/83 Allen, Texas Dallas Burn (MLS) 2 Whitbread, Zach D 6'3" 180 01/10/84 Liverpool, England Liverpool (England) 18 Williams, Ford GK 6'3" 190 02/20/84 Raleigh, N.C. University of North Carolina Team Staff Head Coach: Thomas Rongen Assistant Coach: Cle Kooiman Goalkeeper Coach: Dave Dir Team Coordinator: Erik Carlson Doctor: Dwite Dahms Doctor: Mel Hayashi Trainer: Steven Jurch Trainer: Sheldon Lo Scout: Roberto Lopez Equipment Manager: Bryan Rosenbaum Press Officer: Neil Buethe