CHICAGO (April 18, 2014) – The Chicago Fire Soccer Club announced Friday that midfielders Benji Joya and Victor Pineda were called-up for the U.S. Under-21 Men’s National Team training camp at U.S. Soccer’s National Training Center in Carson, Calif. from April 20-24.



Following three days of training, the U.S. will face Club Tijuana in a friendly on Wednesday evening, April 23.



The U-21 MNT camp was set up to bridge the gap between the Under-20 National Team and the Senior National Team, as well as form a core group of players that will make up the majority of the Under-23 Men’s National Team that will attempt to qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The U-23 MNT will begin programming in 2015.



Joya was acquired by the Fire on Feb. 5 in a weighted lottery from Liga MX side Club Santos Laguna. The San Jose, Calif. native scored the club’s first goal of the season in the Fire’s 3-2 season opening loss to Chivas USA. Joya entered the match in the 63rd minute and 49 seconds into his Fire debut, scored with his first touch of the game. Joya has started three of the four matches in which he has appeared this season.



Pineda, a Fire Academy product and the first Homegrown player in club history, made his competitive debut on March 23 in a 1-1 draw with the New York Red Bulls.



Joya and Pineda were part of the U.S. squad for the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey. They will depart following the Fire’s nationally televised match against the New England Revolution on Saturday, April 19 at 3:00 p.m. CT (NBC Sports Network). The first 5,000 fans attending the Fire match will be given a special commemorative Fire scarf. Tickets for Fire matches are available via Ticketmaster and www.Chicago-Fire.com.



Roster By Position:

GOALKEEPERS (2): Jonathan Kempin (Oklahoma City Energy; Leawood, Kan.), Kendall McIntosh (Santa Clara; Santa Rosa, Calif.)

DEFENDERS (5): Christian Dean (Vancouver Whitecaps; East Palo Alto, Calif.), Juan Pablo Ocegueda (Tigres UANL; Riverside, Calif.), Shane O’Neill (Colorado Rapids; Boulder, Colo.), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids; Brighton, Colo.), Oscar Sorto (LA Galaxy; Los Angeles, Calif.)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake; Garden Grove, Calif.), Alejandro Guido (Club Tijuana; Chula Vista, Calif.), Marlon Hairston (Colorado Rapids; Jackson, Miss.), Benji Joya (Chicago Fire; San Jose, Calif.), Collin Martin (D.C. United; Chevy Chase, Md.), Esteban Rodriguez (Club Tijuana; Bell Gardens, Calif.), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew; Gahanna, Ohio)

FORWARDS (8): Daniel Cuevas (CF Lobos BUAP; Sacramento, Calif.), Danny Garcia (FC Dallas; Dallas, Texas), Jack McBean (LA Galaxy; Newport Beach, Calif.), Jordan Morris (Stanford; Mercer Island, Wash.), Sean Okoli (Seattle Sounders FC; Federal Way, Wash.), Victor Pineda (Chicago Fire; Bolingbrook, Ill.), Jose Villarreal (Cruz Azul; Inglewood, Calif.)