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North Texas’ Pepi Among U.S. U-17 Selections

By USLLeagueOne.com Staff, 04/03/19, 9:51AM EDT

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Reigning Player of the Week selected alongside Championship players for Florida training camp


United States U-17 international Ricardo Pepi recorded the first hat trick in USL League One history this past Saturday as he led North Texas SC to victory in its inaugural contest. | Photo courtesy North Texas SC

CHICAGO – Reigning USL League One Player of the Week Ricardo Pepi of North Texas SC got another good piece of news on Tuesday evening as he was included in the final United States U-17 National Team training camp selected by Head Coach Raphael Wicky that will convene in Lakewood Ranch, Fla. this week before the start of the Concacaf U-17 Championship in May.

The 16-year-old Pepi made a grand entrance in his professional debut this past Saturday as he recorded the first hat trick in League One history to lead NTSC to a 3-2 victory against Chattanooga Red Wolves SC.

Pepi is joined in the squad by seven players who have competed in the USL Championship this season. Among them is Orange County SC goalkeeper Aaron Cervantes, who last month made his professional debut for the club in its 2-2 draw against New Mexico United at Championship Soccer Stadium. Cervantes recorded a pair of saves in the contest, including what proved to be the winner of the USL Championship Fans’ Choice Save of the Week for Week 3.

Also named to the squad are LA Galaxy II defender Kobe Hernandez and the midfield duo of Gilbert Fuentes, who recently made his first professional start for Reno 1868 FC, and Danny Leyva, who has appeared in all five of Tacoma Defiance’s games this season.

The group is completed by forwards Griffin Yow, who scored the first goal in Loudoun United FC history last month against Memphis 901 FC, Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez of Tacoma Defiance and Jack de Vries of Bethlehem Steel FC.

The training camp is Wicky’s first since his appointment as the new U-17 Men’s National Team Coach. The side will face Canada (May 2), Barbados (May 4) and Guatemala (May 6) in the group stage of the 2019 Concacaf U-17 Championship, which will be held at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., with the top three teams in the group advancing to the final stage in June.


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