Sporting Kansas City defender Erik Palmer-Brown has been added to the MLS Homegrown Team roster ahead of Tuesday’s MLS Homegrown Game presented by Energizer.
Coached by MLS legend Brian McBride, Palmer-Brown and the Homegrown Team will face the Chivas de Guadalajara U-20s at 7 p.m. CT at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois, as part of the events leading up to the 2017 MLS All-Star Game on Wednesday inside Chicago's Soldier Field. The MLS Homegrown Game will stream live in English on the Univision Deportes Facebook Page with a Spanish telecast on UDN.
The MLS Homegrown Game was founded in 2014 with the intent of featuring the best Homegrown Players throughout the league. Palmer-Brown, 20, will join the likes of Alphonso Davies (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Jesse Gonzalez (FC Dallas) and Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake) for the summer showdown, having previously featured in the Homegrown Game in 2015 when he started and played 71 minutes in a 1-1 draw against the Club America U-20s.
A native of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, Palmer-Brown has started three of four competitive appearances for Sporting Kansas City this season. He made his 2017 MLS debut on July 6 against the Philadelphia Union, landing MLS Team of the Week honors the following day. The Sporting KC Academy product delivered another superb performance against FC Dallas in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals on July 11, anchoring a back line that defended a man down for 86 minutes en route to a 3-0 extra-time victory.
The first half of 2017 saw Palmer-Brown captain the U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship in Costa Rica and the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Korea Republic. The center back led the U.S. to the CONCACAF U-20 Championship title in early March, receiving the Golden Ball award as the tournament’s best player. Two months later, Palmer-Brown guided the Americans to the quarterfinals of the U-20 World Cup before falling to Venezuela 2-1 in an extra-time heartbreaker.
Palmer-Brown has played 17 matches in all competitions since signing for Sporting KC’s senior team as the club’s third Homegrown Player in August 2013. He became the youngest defender in MLS history to appear in a game when he made his Sporting KC debut as a 17-year-old in May 2014.
MLS Homegrown Roster
Goalkeepers: Jesse Gonzalez (FC Dallas), Evan Louro (New York Red Bulls)
Defenders: Kortne Ford (Colorado Rapids), Justen Glad (Real Salt Lake), Erik Palmer-Brown (Sporting Kansas City), Auston Trusty (Philadelphia Union)
Midfielders: Tyler Adams (New York Red Bulls), Derrick Etienne Jr. (New York Red Bulls), Chris Goslin (Atlanta United), Jose Hernandez (Real Salt Lake), Derrick Jones (Philadelphia Union), Brooks Lennon (Real Salt Lake), Djordje Mihailovic (Chicago Fire), Paxton Pomykal (FC Dallas)
Forwards: Andrew Carleton (Atlanta United FC), Jesus Ferreira (FC Dallas), Jordan Hamilton (Toronto FC), Bradford Jamieson IV (LA Galaxy)
Chivas de Guadalajara U-20 Roster
Goalkeeper: Antonio Torres
Defenders: Juan Aguayo, Diego Cortes, Jose Ramirez
Midfielders: Fernando Beltran, Ruben Dominguez, Ivan Gutierrez, Erich Hernandez, Oscar Macias, Kevin Magana, Juan Carlos Orozco, Jose Peralta, Hector Reynoso, Carlos Zamora
Forwards: Eduardo Cedillo, Jose de Jesus Godinez, Angel Lopez, Jose Salas
