Feb. 14, 2008

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State men's soccer freshman Spencer Thompson (Shelby Township, Mich./De La Salle) is one of 23 collegiate players to be invited to the domestic training camp for the United States U-20 Men's Soccer Team. Thompson, who was named to the 2007 Big Ten All-Freshman team, will travel with some of the nation's best to New Orleans for six days to play in a four-team tournament beginning on Feb. 19. The player pool was announced by U.S. U-20 head coach Thomas Rongen.

Thompson and the other American players will gather on Feb. 19 for training and play two games in a four-team event. On Saturday, Feb. 23 the U.S. will face the U-20 Honduras squad. The New Orleans Shell Shockers and Honduran youth team Club Deportivo Victoria will play each other, with the two winners and two losers meeting on Sunday, Feb. 24.

Thompson started 19 matches for the Spartans this season, playing a key role in MSU's run to the NCAA Tournament. Thompson scored two goals and had two assists on the season and ranked fourth on the team with 22 shots. He scored the game-winner in MSU's 1-0 victory over No. 3 Notre Dame on Oct. 10, and added another goal four days later in Michigan State's 5-0 win over No. 21 Michigan. His assists came in a 2-1 win over New Hampshire and a 2-2 tie with Penn State. For his efforts, Thompson was named second-team All-Freshman by Soccer America and second-team All-Rookie Team of the Season by Top Drawer Soccer.

The Spartans, who spent five weeks in the NSCAA/adidas national rankings, finished 11-6-4 this season and hosted an NCAA Tournament match on Nov. 24. MSU's season ended with a 2-1 loss to Oakland.

"It's an exciting thing to be chosen to compete down there with some great players," Thompson said. "I'm just hoping to perform well compared to the others, and I'll evaluate everything when the camp is over."

Thompson is one of five Big Ten players to be invited to the domestic camp. Indiana's Richard Balchan and Daniel Kelly, Penn State's Warren Gross and Peri Marosevic of Michigan were also invited. The Big Ten had the most players invited, with the Atlantic Coast Conference producing four players.