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USL Standouts to Feature in MLS Homegrown Game

By USLSoccer.com Staff, 07/14/18, 6:04AM EDT

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Seventeen players invited to MLS All-Star Game contest bring USL experience

TAMPA, Fla. – The roster for the 2018 MLS Homegrown Game was announced on Thursday with 17 of the 20 players invited to Atlanta for the contest as part of the 2018 MLS All-Star Game bringing USL experience to the squad.

Leading the group are a pair of players named on Wednesday as nominees for the USL Fans’ Choice Midseason Young Player of the Year, with forward Efrain Alvarez (LA Galaxy II) and goalkeeper J.T. Marcinkowski (Reno 1868 FC) nominated following standout opening halves of the 2018 USL regular season.

Alvarez has scored eight goals in seven appearances for the Galaxy II, becoming the youngest player in league history to record a hat trick in a victory against Saint Louis FC earlier this year. Marcinkowski, meanwhile, has made 17 appearances for 1868 FC on loan from the club’s MLS partner the San Jose Earthquakes, helping the side to a current 16-game undefeated streak with a 70.8 save percentage and four shutouts.

Five players in the squad signed their first professional contracts in the USL, with Alvarez being joined by Matt Real (Bethlehem Steel FC), Marco Farfan (Portland Timbers 2), Wan Kuzain (Swope Park Rangers) and Liam Fraser (Toronto FC II). Real was joined in the squad by Auston Trusty, Mark McKenzie and Anthony Fontana, all of whom have featured for Steel FC prior to making their MLS debut.

Other notables included D.C. United’s Chris Durkin, who alongside Farfan, Trusty and Fraser was named to the 2017 USL 20 Under 20 after standout performances on loan with the Richmond Kickers. The squad also featured Ben Mines (New York Red Bulls), and the exciting attacking Atlanta United duo of Andrew Carleton and Lagos Kunga, all three of whom have four the net for the Red Bulls II and ATL UTD 2 respectively this season.

Combined, the 17 members of the 2018 MLS Homegrown Team have made 346 appearances in the USL during their young careers, with Mines having claimed the USL Cup in 2016 as a substitute for the New York Red Bulls II in the final.

The squad will take on the U20 Team from Liga MX power Tigres UANL in the fifth annual MLS Homegrown Game on Tuesday, July 31 at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground (8 pm ET | UDN, Twitter.com).

2018 MLS Homegrown Team Roster

Goalkeepers: JT Marcinkowski (San Jose Earthquakes), Sean Melvin (Vancouver Whitecaps FC)

Defenders: Reggie Cannon (FC Dallas), Marco Farfan (Portland Timbers), Jaylin Lindsey (Sporting Kansas City), Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia Union), Matthew Real (Philadelphia Union), James Sands (New York City FC), Auston Trusty (Philadelphia Union)

Midfielders: Efrain Alvarez (LA Galaxy), Chris Durkin (D.C. United), Anthony Fontana (Philadelphia Union), Liam Fraser (Toronto FC), Lagos Kunga (Atlanta United), Wan Kuzain (Sporting Kansas City), Cameron Lindley (Orlando City SC), Paxton Pomykal (FC Dallas), Sebastian Saucedo (Real Salt Lake)

Forwards: Andrew Carleton (Atlanta United), Ben Mines (New York Red Bulls)

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