US Under-23 Men’s National Team coach Andi Herzog has called up defenders Shane O’Neill and Dillon Serna for the 2015 Toulon Tournament in the south of France. The tournament begins today and finishes on June 7th.
The 21-year-old Irish born defender, O’Neill joined the Colorado Rapids youth system in 2009, and moved into the starting lineup during the 2012-2013 season, and was awarded with the Rapids Young Player of the Year award.
Since then, O’Neill has appeared 50 times for the Rapids with one goal to his name. Interesting to note that because O’Neill has only played at youth levels for the national team, he still has the option to play for the Republic of Ireland if they call him up.
The second Rapid selected; 21-year-old Serna who is a Colorado native joined the Rapids’ academy in 2009, after playing one year of college soccer at the university of Akron. Serna has 29 appearances for the Rapids senior team since 2013 with three goals.
The tournament consists of 10 teams and games are played with two 40-minute halves instead of the standard 45-minutes. For youth players who have not yet cracked into the senior national team this is a good chance for them to shine on a big stage, especially in preparation for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Herzog added, “Toulon is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world at this age level, and we’re fortunate to have the opportunity to compete against some of the top teams in the world.”
Hopefully the Colorado Rapids duo perform to their best level and come back to Colorado to help the Rapids towards the second half of the MLS season.
