CHICAGO, ILL. — Sophomore Aaron Herrera of The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team has been selected to attend the U.S. Soccer U-20 Men’s National Team Camp set to take place Dec. 13-20 in Costa Rica, U.S. Soccer announced Thursday. Herrera is no stranger to the opportunity as this December’s camp marks Herrera’s continued presence.
The team’s head coach, Tab Ramos, named the 20-player roster for the team’s International Camp that is set to take place in San Jose, Costa Rica in December. During the camp, the U-20 Men’s National Team will play two friendlies against the U-20 Costa Rica team at their national training center on Dec. 17 and 19.
The camp will aid in preparation for the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, which takes place at the Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica in San Jose and the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa in Tibas from Feb. 17 – March 5. The CONCACAF Championship serves as a qualifying tournament for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in South Korea.
This will be the U-20 MNT’s third camp in 2016 and the first competitive match since October’s Four Nations Tournament, where the U.S. had the opportunity to face U-20 sides from Germany, the Netherlands and England.
Herrera served as a standout for the Lobos in his second campaign this season, starting all 22 matches for UNM. He played 2,050 minutes on the Lobo defensive line that helped UNM to a nine-shutout season. In addition to his outstanding defensive statistics, Herrera also tallied six points on two goals, including one gamewinner, and two assists.
Herrera was also named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week once this season.