PORTLAND, Ore. --- Former Portland men's soccer standout and current Orlando City SC forward/midfielder Benji Michel was named to the U.S Men's National Team roster for an upcoming match with Trinidad & Tobago, announced head coach Gregg Berhalter. The match, the first of the 2021 season for the U.S., is scheduled for this Sunday at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, and it will be broadcast live on FS1 at 4 p.m. (Pacific).
The group was selected from an initial list of 12 senior team players and 26 U-23 MNT players that began training on Jan. 9 at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. The team traveled to Orlando on Sunday afternoon.
"I couldn't be prouder of Benji and the work he put in to earn this opportunity," Portland head coach Nick Carlin-Voigt said. "To represent our full US National Team and follow in the footsteps of former Portland national team players shows the legacy of the program here at Portland. He now follows in his own path, but also one carved out by those Pilots who came before him."
Michel spent the past month training with the U.S. U-23's as head coach Jason Kreis tries to build and evaluate their roster ahead of the resumption of the CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship in March. The U-23's were training with the senior team while in Florida.
"These last two weeks have been an absolute pleasure. The hard work and determination demonstrated by the entire group confirms that the player pool is headed in the right direction," Berhalter said. "As we transition to Orlando, we switch gears and focus on competing as we prepare to face Trinidad and Tobago."
Michel has spent the past two years with Orlando City after signing a homegrown contract with the club in December of 2018. He's made 38 overall appearances for the Lions, starting 17 matches, and he's collected 10 career goals and three career assists.
An All-American during his junior campaign with the Pilots, Michel ended his collegiate career with 31 goals in three years, eight assists, 70 points, and 12 game-winners. He ranks third all-time in Portland program history in game-winners, and he's 12th in career goals.
Michel was named First-Team All-WCC and he earned all-region honors all three seasons, and he was recognized as the WCC Freshman of the Year in 2016.
"When you work with Benji day in and day out it's apparent to see his desire, passion and overall growth he's made since his freshman year on The Bluff all the way to today as a second-year pro now working with Gregg Berhalter and his staff," added Carlin-Voigt. "I've worked with many hungry players, but what separates Benji is his competitive mentality and drive to improve. Benji had very little recruiting hype coming out of high school, no rankings, no youth national team call ups of any level, and he simply put his head down and got better every day. I've always loved his blue-collar mentality and our entire Portland program couldn't be prouder of his success as he represents our US National Team program."
