David Ochoa, Bobby Pierre Called Into U.S. U-20 National Team

SANDY, Utah – Real Salt Lake goalkeeper David Ochoa and academy defender Bobby Pierre have been invited to join the U.S. U-20 National Team camp by head coach Anthony Hudson.

Ochoa, 18, and Pierre, 17, will head to Bradenton, Florida where they will spend the next three weeks. The camp concludes with two friendlies against the Mexican U-20 National Team on January 16 and 18.

Getting the 📞

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) January 8, 2020

“We are extremely excited and proud to have David and Bobby called in to represent their country at the U-20 level,” Real Salt Lake General Manager Elliot Fall said.  “It’s a tremendous honor for both of them and a further validation of the work that’s being done developing players at Real Salt Lake.”

A Real Salt Lake Academy product, Ochoa returns to the U.S. U-20s after helping reach the quarterfinals of the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland.  He has been a regular call-up for the U.S. at the U-20 and U-18 levels since 2018.

Ochoa signed with RSL prior to the 2019 season and played a big role in helping the Real Monarchs to their first USL Championship title. He ended the seasons with four shutouts and a 1.38 goals-against average during the regular season.

In 2017, Ochoa spent his time playing for the RSL Academy U-17’s and U-19’s where he appeared in 31 matches.

Meanwhile, Pierre is currently in his third season with the RSL Academy. In 2017-18, Pierre played just three matches with the U-17’s, however last season he played 22 matches for them while also scoring one goal. So far this season, Pierre has six starts for the U-19’s who are currently 1-1-2.

U-20 USMNT ROSTER BY POSITION:
GOALKEEPERS (4): David Ochoa (Real Salt Lake; Oxnard, Calif.), Chituru Odunze (Leicester City/ENG; London, England), John Pulskamp (Sporting Kansas City; Bakersfield, Calif.), Patrick Schulte (St. Louis University; Saint Charles, Mo.)
DEFENDERS (10): Jacob Akanyirige (San Jose Earthquakes; Pleasanton, Calif.), Nico Benalcazar (Wake Forest; Wilton, Conn.), Kevin Bonilla (FC Dallas; Dallas, Texas), Nathan Harriel (Philadelphia Union; Oldsmar, Fla.), Ian Hoffmann (Karlsruher/GER; Bethany Beach, Del.), Blake Malone (North Carolina; Las Vegas, Nev.), Kurowskybob Pierre (Real Salt Lake Academy; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Andre Reynolds II (Chicago Fire FC; Chicago, Ill.), Stuart Ritchie (Hannover 96/GER; Pleasanton, Calif.), Leonardo Sepulveda (Salamanca/ESP.; Corona, Calif.)
MIDFIELDERS (5): Cole Bassett (Colorado Rapids; Littleton, Colo.), Leon Flach (St. Pauli/GER; Bad Schwartau, Germany), Aidan Morris (Columbus Crew S.C.; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Marcelo Palomino (Houston Dynamo; Houston, Texas), Thomas Roberts (FC Dallas; Little Rock, Ark.)
FORWARDS (5): Gianluca Busio (Sporting Kansas City; Greensboro, N.C.), Cameron Harper (Celtic/SCO; Roseville, Calif.), Matko Miljevic (Argentinos Juniors/ARG; Miami, Fla.), Dante Sealy (FC Dallas; Frisco, Texas), Marlon Vargas (Seattle Sounders FC.; Bakersfield, Calif.)