Sporting Kansas City U16 Juniors player Eduardo Moreno arrived in Bradenton, Florida on Sunday for an exclusive U.S. Soccer U-17 Mini Camp held at the IMG Academies. Moreno is one of 20 players from across the country identified and invited by the U.S. Soccer Federation to participate in the camp.
Moreno, a 16-year-old striker from Liberal, Kansas, has played three games for the U16 Juniors in the 2010-11 U.S. Soccer Development Academy, scoring the game-winning goal in the team’s 1-0 win over South Central Premier at the Winter Showcase earlier this month.
Moreno currently attends Liberal High School where he was named a Class 5A First Team All-Southwest Region and All-State honorable mention in 2009, when he scored 22 goals and added eight assists. Voted the team’s Most Valuable Player, he led Liberal to a 17-4 record and third-place finish at the Kansas State High School Activities Association Class 5A Tournament, after claiming their ninth straight Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Championship. Moreno was selected the conference Player of the Year and nominated as Male Soccer Player of the Year in CatchItKansas.com’s annual awards.
The weeklong training camp is designed to allow an elite group of the top youth soccer players in the country to experience the U-17 Residency Program, U.S. Soccer’s full-time player development academy that hosts 40 players each semester under the direction of Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera.
The U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team is preparing for February’s 2011 CONCACAF U-17 Championships in Jamaica, with the top four teams qualifying for the U-17 FIFA World Cup in Mexico this summer. The draw for the CONCACAF U-17 Championships will take place on Wednesday to assign each of the twelve countries into four groups.
Moreno will return to Kansas City on Friday and rejoin the U16 Juniors, who are in fourth place in the Central Conference’s Frontier Division with a 3-2-2 record in the Development Academy.
