Two LA Galaxy Players to Face Mexico with USMNT U-23 Squad

This morning, US Soccer released their roster for the upcoming U-23 National Team camp and match against Mexico. The roster, loaded with experience, features 20 names, 12 of whom have MLS ties. Seven of the players on this roster have been called up to the senior National Team during 2015.

Other big names in the US team include the Stanford sensation Jordan Morris, Real Salt Lake's Luis Gil, Mario Rodriguez of Borussia M'gladbach, and other current college standout Sam Strong, who plies his trade for UC Santa Barbara.

This is the second Wednesday in a row that a US National Team will be facing a Mexican side, with the US senior squad winning the previous match up by a famous Dos A Cero scoreline. Sorto and Villarreal will be hoping they can be major contributors to a similar result in a match being played at their home stadium, StubHub Center.

"It’s a beautiful stadium and this is a huge rivalry," head coach Andi Herzog said. "We had this experience with the senior team last week and it was a great atmosphere. For these players, it’s a huge opportunity and we want to see them make the most of it."

Villarreal, who has contributed a goal and two assists to the Galaxy in 2015, declined a recent U-23 call up in order to solidify a starting spot with LA. It's likely that he will accept this call regardless of his Galaxy situation due to this camp being a local one for the Los Angeles-based player and the magnitude of the opponent.

Sorto is one of the seven players in this squad to have been called up to the senior team earlier in 2015, and has been a feature at the U-23 level since 2014. The 20 year-old has spent most of his club career with LA Galaxy II, making 23 appearances as the team reached the USL semi-finals during the 2014 season.

Wednesday's match against Mexico at Stubhub Center will take place at 8 PM PST and can be seen on UniMas and Univision Deportes.

FULL ROSTER:

GOALKEEPERS (2): Cody Cropper (Southampton; Maple Grove, Minn.), Jon Kempin (San Antonio Scorpions; Leawood, Kan.)

DEFENDERS (8): Christian Dean (Vancouver Whitecaps; East Palo Alto, Calif.), Juan Pablo Ocegueda (Alebrijes de Oaxaca; Riverside, Calif.), Boyd Okwuonu (Real Salt Lake; Edmund, Okla.), Shane O’Neill (Colorado Rapids; Boulder, Colo.), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids; Brighton, Colo.), Oscar Sorto (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif), Sam Strong (UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, Calif.), Walker Zimmerman (FC Dallas; Lawrenceville, Ga.)

MIDFIELDERS (5): Fatai Alashe (San Jose Earthquakes; Northville, Mich.), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake; Garden Grove, Calif.), Alejandro Guido (Club Tijuana; Chula Vista, Calif.), Benji Joya (Santos Laguna; San Jose, Calif.), Daniel Metzger (New York Red Bulls II; Holmdel, N.J.)

FORWARDS (5): Alonso Hernandez (C.F. Monterrey; El Paso, Texas), Alfred Koroma Shams (Unattached; Southlake Carol, Texas), Jordan Morris (Stanford; Mercer Island, Wash.), Mario Rodriguez (Borussia Mönchengladbach; North Hollywood, Calif.), Jose Villarreal (LA Galaxy; Inglewood, Calif.)