CHICAGO – Portland Timbers defender Marco Farfan was named to a 22-player U.S. Under-19 Men’s National Team roster by head coach Brad Friedel for an eight-day domestic training camp set to take place from Feb. 3-10 in Sunrise, Fla.
During the camp, the U-19s will play friendlies against El Salvador and Miami FC. This camp marks the U-19 MNT’s first gathering of 2017 and first return to action since its friendly against Miami FC last November, part of the team’s final training camp of 2016.
A native of Portland, Farfan joined the Eastside Timbers U.S. Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) in 2013, featuring for the U-16 and U-18 Academy teams over three seasons, before being loaned to Portland’s USL affiliate, T2, during the 2016 USL season. In 2016 with T2, Farfan started in each of his 18 appearances, playing the eighth-most minutes on the team (1,463). On Oct. 14, 2016, he became the first Timbers Academy produced Homegrown Player to sign with the first team.
“I'm really looking forward to the camp and I think we've assembled a good, athletic squad and I will be really interested to see who does well,” Friedel said. “This camp is meant to bring in new and returning players and give them the opportunity to get into the system and have a chance at making a future U-20 roster. The second part of that is, the (birth year) 1997, 1998 and some 1999 age groups are going to make up the bulk of the next U-23 Olympic team. So it’s really important that we continue to give the players international experience.”
In 2016, Farfan was named No. 7 on the USL 20 Under 20 rankings, serving as the only academy player to be named on the list. Additionally, the defender was named to the USL Team of the Week for Week 6 for his efforts in a draw against Arizona United SC on April 30.
Prior to joining T2, Farfan appeared in 21 matches (21 starts) for the Timbers U-18 Academy team during the 2015-16 USSDA campaign, ranking in the top 10 for the most games and minutes played on the team. At the conclusion of the season, Farfan was named to the USSDA Best XI for the Western Conference.
Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Matthew Freese (Philadelphia Union; Wayne, Pa.), Noah Lawrence (D.C. United; Mitchellville, Md.), Kevin Silva (UCLA; Bethlehem, Pa.)
DEFENDERS (6): Daniel Barbir (West Bromwich Albion F.C.; Allentown, Pa.), Tanner Dieterich (Clemson; Nashville, Tenn.), Marco Farfan (Portland Timbers; Portland, Ore.), Justin Ingram (Indiana Fire; Indianapolis, Ind.), Edwin Munjoma (SMU; McKinney, Texas), Brandon Terwege (FC Dallas; Highland Village, Texas)
MIDFIELDERS (11): Christian Enriquez (Cal Poly; Spring Valley, Calif.), Daniel Griffin (Providence College; Wethersfield, Conn.), Felipe Hernandez (Swope Park Rangers; Murfreesboro, Tenn.), Michael Ille (Atlanta United FC; Lawrenceville, Ga.), Milan Iloski (Real Salt Lake; Escondido, Calif.), Ryley Kraft (Sacramento Republic FC; Roseville, Calif.), Lagos Kunga (Atlanta United FC; Tucker, Ga.), Simon Lekressner (California-Berkley; Bellevue, Wash.), William Little III (Swope Park Rangers; Johnson City, Tenn.), Djordje Mihailovic (Chicago Fire; Bridgeview, Ill.), Grant Robinson (George Mason; Columbia, Md.)
FORWARDS (2): Nelson Hunsinger (Leg-A-Z; Mary Esther, Fla.), Mason Toye (PDA; South Orange, N.J.)
