NEW YORK – FC Dallas players Brek Shea and Heath Pearce werethe only MLS players included on Thursday in the 20-man roster named by Bob Bradley for matchesagainst Poland and Colombia in October.
For Shea, it marks his first evercall-up to a senior national team camp. Pearce has 32 caps for the US team and was a member of the team's preliminary 30-man roster before the World Cup in South Africa.
It was expected that few MLS players would be called upon,given MLS clubs are in the stretch run of the 2010 regular season. With FCDallas still very much in the thick of the Supporters' Shield race, Shea andPearce will not miss their MLS weekend match on Oct. 9.
“We understand this is a critical point in the season forteams in MLS,” Bradley said in a statement. “Given the circumstances,we felt it was important that the MLS players be given as much opportunity aspossible to remain with their clubs and continue to make important contributionsas the playoffs approach.”
The other noteworthy highlight of the roster is the call-upof Schalke 04 midfielder Jermaine Jones, who backed out of a call-up for theUSA vs. Brazil match in August.
Along with Shea, Aston Villa defender Eric Lichaj was alsonamed to the US roster for the first time.
The US takes on Poland at Soldier Field on Oct. 9 and thenhosts Colombia at PPL Park on Oct. 12 in the USMNT’s first ever match at thePhiladelphia Union’s stadium.
GOALKEEPERS (2): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton)
DEFENDERS (8): Carlos Bocanegra (Saint-Étienne), SteveCherundolo (Hannover), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Eric Lichaj (Aston Villa),Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan), Michael Parkhurst (FC Nordsjaelland), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), JonathanSpector (West Ham United)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Alejandro Bedoya (Örebro), Michael Bradley(Borussia Moenchengladbach), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus),Stuart Holden (Bolton Wanderers), Jermaine Jones (FC Schalke), Brek Shea (FC Dallas)
FORWARDS (3): Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Clint Dempsey(Fulham), Eddie Johnson (Fulham)
