Richmond’s Caleb Clarke is among 18 players named to the Canadian U23 men’s soccer team’s roster for the upcoming Pan American Games in Toronto.
The 22-year-old striker is currently in the Vancouver Whitecaps organization, having signed with the MLS Club has a Homegrown Player in 2012. He has been in the starting 11 for much of the season with the Whitecaps’ United Soccer League entry and has has a club leading six goals in 17 matches, including a pair of game winners.
Canada’s lineup features a number of quality young professionals that are just making their first steps into the world of professional soccer, with many of them already having played a few games at the senior level for Canada’s National Team.
The team will be making their first appearance at the Pan American Games since 1999 when they finished in fourth place in Winnipeg.
The team opens competition at the CIBC Hamilton Soccer Stadium on July 12 against world powerhouses Brazil before wrapping up play in Group A with games against Panama (July 16) and Peru (July 20).
The Pan American competition is an Olympic Developmental event and will be a valuable chance for the team to prepare for qualifying for the 2016 Olympics, which should get underway in the fall. All of the players on this Canadian team are professional players with the majority coming from Canada’s professional clubs.
The top two teams in both of the groups containing four teams will qualify for the medal rounds.The gold medal game takes place July 26.
“I’m happy with our squad because I know the majority of the players. We know how they can work with us and develop. I hope that we can reach the semi-finals and we are really excited for that first game against Brazil because it’s a really important game for us.” said Canadian head coach Antonio Floro.
