VANCOUVER, BC - Vancouver Whitecaps FC defender Tim Parker was called up to the United States U-23 men's national team for the upcoming home-and-home playoff series with Colombia, which will determine the final berth for the 2016 Olympic Games.
Head coach Andreas Herzog and his 23-man roster will hold camp from March 20 to 30, with the team spending the first four days training in Miami, Florida. The first leg of the home-and-away series will be played on Friday, March 25 in Barranquilla, Colombia before the scene shifts to Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas on March 29 for the second and decisive leg.
Parker will miss one match for Whitecaps FC when they host Houston Dynamo at BC Place on Saturday, March 26.
The United States are looking to qualify for the Olympics for the first time since the 2008 Beijing Games.
The US U-23 team failed to secure one of two automatic CONCACAF bids to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics at the Olympic Qualifying tournament last October. The Americans lost to Honduras in the tournament semifinal, but defeated Canada in the third-place game to earn a spot in the playoff against Colombia, who finished second at the 2015 South American Youth Football Championship.
Parker, who turned 23 last month, recently earned his first call-up to the senior United States men's national team for a training camp this past January, but did not feature in their friendlies versus Iceland and Canada during the camp.
The Hicksville, New York native played the full 90 minutes in both of Whitecaps FC's MLS matches so far this season.
The 6-foot-2 centre back has become a mainstay on the Whitecaps FC backline after starting 16 of his 17 MLS appearances including postseason as a rookie in 2015, when he contributed to seven clean sheets.
U.S. Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Cody Cropper (Milton Keynes Dons), Ethan Horvath (Molde KJ), Zach Steffen (SC Freiburg)
DEFENDERS (8): Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas), Matt Miazga (Chelsea FC), Eric Miller (Colorado Rapids), Tim Parker (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Desevio Payne (FC Groningen), Shane O’Neill (Cambridge United), Brandon Vincent (Chicago Fire), Walker Zimmerman (FC Dallas)
MIDFIELDERS (9): Fatai Alashe (San Jose Earthquakes), Paul Arriola (Club Tijuana), Luis Gil (Queretaro), Julian Green (Bayern Munich), Emerson Hyndman (Fulham FC), Jerome Kiesewetter (VfB Stuttgart), Matt Polster (Chicago Fire), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC)
FORWARDS (3): Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC), Mario Rodriguez (Borussia Monchengladbach), Khiry Shelton (New York City FC)
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