Union’s Zach Pfeffer Called Up To U.S. U-23s

Report From Philadelphia Union

Chester, Pa.  – Philadelphia Union forward Zach Pfeffer has been called up to the U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced Monday. Pfeffer will join the team for its upcoming match against Denmark on Tuesday, March 31 in Copenhagen.

A fixture on the youth national circuit, Pfeffer will make his first national team appearance in 2015. In September 2014, he was one of 19 players called-up to the U.S. U-20 team for a September 2014 camp in Argentina. He scored the lone goal in a 1-1 draw with the hosts, Argentina. Earlier in the year in April, Pfeffer was called up to the U-20 team to take part in the Dallas Cup. He played in four out of the five games, scored one goal and handed out two assists.

Pfeffer, who just turned 20 in January, has also played on the U-17 and U-18 National Teams.

For the Union, Pfeffer has played in 12 games and made four starts since joining the team in 2011. He signed as the team’s first Homegrown Player on Dec. 22, 2010 at the age of 15 years and 350 days. At the time, he was also the fourth youngest player ever to sign an MLS contract, behind Freddy Adu, Fued Ibrahim, and Diego Fagundez.

The U.S. U-23 MNT’s two friendlies are part of the team’s first training camp of 2015 currently taking place in Europe. The camp marks the beginning of the team’s qualifying preparations for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The team played its first friendly of the year on March 27, defeating Bosnia U-21’s 5-2 in Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina.