Utahn Update - 12 July 2010

It’s been a good week for Utah natives playing either professionally or internationally. Three out of the four notable players got on the score sheet, scoring a total of four goals among them. Following is a list of the players and their tie to the state in parenthesis.

MLS

Justin Braun (Salt Lake City) -- Scored a brace at Kansas City this weekend helping Chivas USA improve to a 4-9-2 record. Watch highlights of the Skyline HS alum twice hustle past the KC defense here.

WPS

Liz Bogus (Sandy, Utah) -- Played a full 90 for the Boston Breakers and cored her first WPS goal in a 3-1 win over the Atlanta Beat.

Katie Larkin (BYU; Draper, Utah) -- Started and played 70 minutes for the Atlanta Beat in a 3-1 losing effort over the weekend.

US National Team

Elli Reed (Park City, Utah) -- US U-23 WNT -- Opened the scoring for the US U-23 Women's National Team in a 3-1 win over England on July 3 as part of a four-nations tournament in Brighton, England. Reed also started in the second match on July 9, playing 59 minutes before coming off. The United States will close the tournament against Sweden.

Utahan Update - April 15

Utah's professional players didn't fare well this last week, as only one of the three made an appearance. Although, there are at least three players of the younger generations with ties to Utah who have been called into upcoming training camps for the U.S. National Team.



Justin Braun (Salt Lake City) -- Dressed, but did not play in Chivas USA's 2-0 victory over the New York Red Bulls this last weekend.



Liz Bogus (Sandy, Utah) -- Did not dress for the Boston Breakers' 2-1 victory over the Washington Freedom.

Katie Larkin (Draper, Utah) -- Came on for the Atlanta Beat in the 90th minute of a 0-0 draw with the Philadelphia Independence. It was the inaugural match for both clubs.



Elli Reed (Park City, Utah) -- US U-23 WNT -- As mentioned last week Reed will train with the U-23 WNT April 18-25 in Corvallis, OR. Reed is no stranger to the national team system as she was a member of the US U-20 squad that won the World Cup in 2008.

Lindsi Lisonbee (BYU; Park City, Utah) -- US U-20 WNT -- A press-release from US Soccer included Lisonbee in the line up for the U-20 WNT camp that is currently gathered in Carson, Calif. Although, the information can not be confirmed on ussoccer.com. Interestingly enough, when Lisonbee is on the roster Cloee Colohan is not.

Cloee Colohan (West Point, Utah) -- US U-20 WNT -- According to ussoccer.com Colohan was called into camp with the U-20 WNT that convenes this week. Although, Colohan's name was missing from a recent press-release, she remains on the roster on the website.

Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake) -- US U-18 MNT -- The RSL teenage sensation, who made an appearance for the professional side in US Open Cup play this week, will train with the U-18 MNT at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. April 25-May 2.

Utahan Update - Apr. 8

With the summer seasons of the American professional leagues get started this month Desert Crown will follow the progress of players with ties to the state of Utah. If you know of any other players who are getting paid to play, and are not included in the list below, please let us know so we can keep everyone informed.

MLS

Justin Braun - CD Chivas USA (MLS) - Started and played 81 minutes in a loosing effort in the El Classico with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Chivas will host the red hot Red Bulls of New York on Saturday, April 10.


WPS

The Woman's Professional Soccer season is set to kickoff on April 10th. The off season saw the demise of WPS finalists LA Sol, which housed both of the representatives from Utah in Katie Larkin and Liz Bogus. As the roster dispersed through out the league Larkin ended up with the 2010 WPS Expansion side, the Atlanta Beat and Bogus is in Boston playing for the Breakers. The Beat came out on the winning end of a 2-1 pre-season match against Boston this week. Bogus made an appearance in the match as a substitute.

Bogus and the Breakers will open the 2010 season on the road against the Washington Freedom on Saturday, April 10. While Larkin and the Beat will travel to Philadelphia to take on the Independence in a battle of the 2010 expansion teams.


U.S. National Team

U-23 WNT - Park City's Elli Reed has been called into a training camp with the Under-23 Women's National Team at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Ore., from April 18-25. Reed, currently a student at the University of Portland, was included in the list of 24 of the nation's best collegiate players who will train under coach Bill Irwin and then face Oregon State and the University of Portland.

U-20 WNT - After a shortened freshman season at Portland, Cloee Colohan will rejoin the U.S. National Team system as part of the U-20 squad preparing for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Germany later this year. Head coach Jill Ellis will bring 26 players to a training camp April 11–18 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Ellis will have one more domestic training camp in May, followed by a trip to Germany in June before she selects her 21-player roster to represent the USA at the World Cup in late July.

Colohan Called into U-20 U.S. Camp

The U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team will be gathering to Sunrise, Fla. this Saturday for a week long training camp. Among the 24 players invited is Utah's own Cloee Colohan from West Point.

Colohan is a veteran of the U.S. Soccer system, captaining both the U-17 and U-20 WNT in previous tournaments. After playing two years for Syracuse High School, Colohan turned her soccer focus to her club, Black Diamond SC, and the national team. She began her NCAA career with the Portland Pilots this last fall. Although her freshman season for the Pilots was shortened to just five appearances due to a leg injury that she suffered early on. Her Pilots team-mate, Eli Reed from Park City, appeared in all 22 of Portland's games, scoring three goals while assisting two others.

United States head coach Jillian Ellis will use the camp to make some final decisions on a roster that will represent the United States at the CONCACAF U-20 Women’s Qualifying Tournament that will send three nations to Germany for the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. The qualifying tournament will be held in Guatemala from Jan. 19-30, at the 17,000-seat Estadio Cementos Progreso. The roster is filled with players coming off excellent college seasons, including UCLA forward Sydney Leroux, the only holdover from the U.S. team that won the 2009 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Chile. Leroux, who won the Golden Ball as the best player in that tournament, scored 23 goals for the Bruins this season. The roster includes just five players not yet in college in defender Crystal Dunn, midfielders Elizabeth Eddy, Samantha Mewis and Jenna Richmond and forward Maya Hayes. Dunn, Eddy and Mewis represented the USA in New Zealand. Richmond would have made that roster if not for a knee injury. Ellis will add two more players to the roster before camp begins.

Sparta Striker Called Into U-14 GNT Camp

One of Utah's youth players is training with the United States U-14 Girls' National Team this week at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California this week.

Darian Jenkins, a striker from Harriman, plays her club soccer for Sparta Premier and is among the 36 players invited into camp after competing at the 101-player U.S. U-14 Girls’ National Team I.D. Camp in Pomona, Calif earlier this summer.

In this week's training camp, run by U.S. national staff coach Mike Dickey, Jenkins will take part in a week of training and games against local club sides. All of the 36 players were born in 1995 and are looking toward competing in the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.

Utahn Anchors U-20 Women's National Team

Another diamond in the Utah soccer system is a player graduating from Syracuse High School this spring, and who co-captained the U.S. U-17 Womens National Team at the World Cup in 2008. That diamond is central defender Cloee Colohan.

The name of the West Point native may be new to the even avid followers of the high school game across the state. That's because Colohan has opted not to play for Syracuse HS, but rather focus on her club Black Diamond SC as well as the U.S. Youth National Team.

With the U-17 WNT Colohan anchored the backline of a U.S. team that took second at the U-17 Women's World Cup last summer in New Zealand. Her talents made her an invaluable member of that team, playing more minutes than any other player in the poll during the year.

Colohan's future with U.S. Soccer appears to be very bright. She captained the U-20 WNT for the La Manga tournament held in Spain last month. Playing in all three matches of the tournament, Colohan helped the U.S. to a 1-1-1 finish. Colohan will also be included with the rest of the U-20 WNT as they gather for a training camp to be held at the Home Depot Center, in Carson, California, April 25-May 3.

Following her graduation from Syracuse this spring, Colohan will continue her education and playing career with the Pilots of the University of Portland. The Pilots are a perennial national power that have consistently finished in the top 10 for the last several years. With her extensive international experience, Colohan should be able to provide a nice contribution to an already prolific NCAA program.