STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford junior forward Jordan Morris was named by U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team head coach Andi Herzog to the 20-player roster that will compete in the 2015 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship it was announced Friday.
The USA will look to clinch a spot in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro through the tournament, which will be played across the United States from Oct. 1-13.
The U.S. was drawn into Group A and opens with a pair of games at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas, against Canada on Oct. 1 at 8 p.m. CT and Cuba on Oct. 3 at 4 p.m. CT. The U-23’s will conclude group play at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on Oct. 6 against Panama at 7:30 p.m. MT.
Defending Olympic gold medalists Mexico are joined in Group B by Costa Rica, Haiti and Honduras. The top two teams from each group will advance to the tournament semifinals. Winners of the semifinal games will advance to the finals and clinch spots in the Olympics. The winner of the third-place game will qualify for a one-game playoff against Colombia in the final opportunity for an Olympic spot.
The U.S. enters the tournament having defeated Qatar in its final tune-up. In June, the team finished third at the renowned Toulon Tournament in France, defeating the Netherlands and England. The team is 6-4-0 in 2015, including a 3-0 win against Mexico in April, which featured a goal from Morris.
The U.S. hopes to return to the Olympics for the first time since the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, where it posted a 1-1-1 record but did not advance past the group stage. The USA’s best showing in the Olympics came during the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, when the team defeated Japan in the quarterfinals and finished fourth in the event.
Morris, the only collegian on the roster, has helped No. 4 Stanford to a 5-1-0 start this season, scoring twice. The Cardinal concludes the nonconference portion of its schedule with weekend home matches against San Francisco (Friday, Sept. 18, 7 p.m.) and Davidson (Sunday, Sept. 20, noon). Mini plans and single-game seats are available by visiting gostanford.com/tickets or calling 800-STANFORD.
Morris made headlines in January when the U.S. Men’s National Team forward announced his decision to return to school for his junior year citing the fact that his “teammates, coaches, professors and peers make Stanford a special place [where he is] provided the unique opportunity to both play the game [he loves] and learn at one of the world’s great universities.”
The Mercer Island, Washington native has earned six caps for the U.S. Men’s National Team in the past year. In November 2014 he became the first active collegian since 1995 to appear for the USMNT when he came on in the 76th minute in a friendly against Ireland in Dublin. On April 15, 2015 in San Antonio, Texas, Morris started and scored for the United States against Mexico, becoming the first college player to score for the USA since September 1992. He is the third Cardinal to appear for the USMNT. Todd Dunivant capped twice in 2006 and three-time MLS Defender of the Year Chad Marshall did so 11 times from 2005-10.
Stanford in 4-0-1 over the past two seasons in matches Morris has missed due to responsibilities with U.S. Soccer. While Morris was in Foxborough, Massachusetts for the USMNT friendly against Brazil earlier this month, the Cardinal defeated VCU, 2-0, behind goals from Foster Langsdorf and Adam Mosharrafa.
Morris has played four times for the U-23s in 2015 scoring three goals and assisting on two others in 323 minutes.
