SAN PEDRO DEL PINATAR, Spain – Former Maryland soccer players Donovan Pines and Eryk Williamson participated in the first U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team training camp of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic cycle last week.
The USA's brightest Olympic hopefuls faced Egypt and the Netherlands at the Pinatar Arena in San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain. Pines started the opening match against Egypt and did well before being subbed out at halftime. Williamson played the final 45 minute of that match. Pines entered in the 75th minute of the match against the Netherlands while Williamson was an unused substitute.
Maryland was the lone college program to have multiple former players on the roster. Newly-appointed U-23 MNT head coach Jason Kreis led the training camp.
The matches represented the beginning of a long journey to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo as the USA aims to qualify for its first Men's Olympic Football Tournament since 2008. After narrowly missing qualification to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro by dropping an intercontinental playoff, the new U-23 MNT will set its sights on the Concacaf Olympic Qualifying Championship. Set for late 2019 or early 2020, two nations will advance to Tokyo from the tournament.
-Terps-
