Zack Steffen, Wil Trapp called into United States National Team January camp

On Monday morning, the United State Men’s National Team announced the full 30-man squad for the team’s January camp.

Among those called up, interim head coach Dave Sarachan included two Columbus Crew SC players, goalkeeper Zack Steffen and midfielder Wil Trapp.

From the Crew SC press release:

“A member of the United States National Team program since the Under-14 level, Zack Steffen most recently featured for the U-23 team, playing 45 minutes in a friendly against England’s U-21 squad on September 3, 2015 in Preston, England. Prior to that, the goalkeeper earned 11 caps with the USA’s U-20 squad. Steffen served as the primary goalkeeper at the 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship, where he made five appearances (all starts) and recorded four consecutive shutouts to help the U.S. qualify for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand. At that tournament, Steffen made five appearances (all starts) to help the Stars & Stripes advance to the Quarterfinals. On May 16, 2016, Steffen was called-up by United States Men’s National Team head coach Jürgen Klinsmann for a transitional camp.

Entering his third season with Crew SC, Steffen is coming off a 2017 campaign in which he made 39 appearances (all starts) across all MLS competitions (regular season and postseason). The 22-year-old was the only Black & Gold player to play every minute of every match during the regular season, registering 16 wins and nine shutouts, both club records for a Crew SC goalkeeper in his first year of play. Additionally, Steffen’s 34 starts in the regular season also tied Steve Clark’s record for most starts by a Black & Gold goalkeeper in his first year of play. Steffen finished the regular season with 98 saves, tied with Bill Hamid for fourth-most saves in the League and behind only Joe Bendik (173), Bobby Shuttleworth (116) and Luis Robles (99).

Black & Gold captain Wil Trapp has represented the U.S. Men’s National Team senior roster on two occasions, with his last appearance coming in a 1-0 friendly victory over Canada on February 5, 2016. Trapp also has international experience at the youth level, having participated in Olympic qualifying with the U.S. U-23 squad, captaining the team against Colombia in both legs of the playoff for the 2016 Summer Olympics, playing 180 minutes over both matches. Trapp also earned 15 caps with the United States Under-20 National Team, helping the team qualify for the 2013 FIFA Under-20 World Cup. In 2013, he was named the U.S. Soccer Young Male Athlete of the Year.

During the 2017 MLS season, his fifth with Crew SC, Trapp made 34 regular-season appearances (all starts) setting a new personal career-high in matches played, minutes played (3,035) and assists (five) provided in a single season. Per Opta, Trapp led the League in completed passes (2,034) and was one of only two players, along with Toronto FC’s Michael Bradley, to successfully complete over 2,000 passes during the 2017 regular season. Additionally, Trapp was one of only two Crew SC players to start every match for the club during the regular season, the other being Zack Steffen. Since joining Columbus ahead of the 2013 season, Trapp has made 127 regular-season appearances (124 starts) for the club, scoring one goal and providing 14 assists.”

The U.S. camp begins on Jan. 10 in Carson, California. The Yanks will play friend games against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Jan. 28 at the StubHub Center.

You can see the full 30-man roster here.

Crew SC begins preseason camp on Jan. 26, meaning the Black & Gold will miss these two players for the start.