SANDY, Utah (Friday, August 30, 2019) – U.S. U-20 National Team Head Coach Tab Ramos called in Real Salt Lake and GK David Ochoa as part of the roster for training camp in Slovenia. The U-20s will face Croatia’s U-20s on September 5 and the United Arab Emirates U-23s on September 9.
A Real Salt Lake Academy product, Ochoa returns to the U.S. U-20s after helping reach the quarterfinals of the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland. He has been a regular call-up for the U.S. at the U-20 and U-18 levels since 2018.
“David continues to gain experience with the Monarchs in matches and the first team in training so getting opportunities to play with the U-20s is great for his development,” RSL General Manager Craig Waibel said. “The more exposure he gets against a variety of opponents and with a variety of teammates, the better-prepared he will be when he starts to get playing time at the first-team level.”
Ochoa, 18, signed with RSL prior to the 2019 season. He made his professional debut in 2018 with the Real Monarchs as an Academy call-up on April 22, 2018 and has since made nine starts in 2019 for the club in USL Championship. This season he has a 4-3-2 record with three shutouts and a 1.44 GAA.
In 2017 the Oxnard, California native appeared in 14 matches for the Real Salt Lake Academy U-17s and 17 for the U-19s. He helped the U.S. contingent qualify for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, earning shutouts in both matches he appeared in, including a 1-0 shutout of Honduras in the CONCACAF Championship semifinal round and played in two matches at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Real Salt Lake is currently second in the Western Conference standings at 13-10-4 (43 points) and faces the Portland Timbers on Saturday at Providence Park. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. MT with live coverage on KMYU, the KSL TV app and ESPN 700.
