Sporting KC Academy defender Jaylin Lindsey has been named to the CONCACAF Under-17 Championship Best XI after helping the U.S. U-17s to a second-place finish in the tournament and qualification to the FIFA U-17 World Cup later this year.
Lindsey is joined by four other members of the U.S. U-17s in the tournament’s Best XI in goalkeeper Justin Garces – who also earned the Golden Glove award – defender James Sands, midfielder Chris Durkin and forward Josh Sargent.
The 17-year-old started and played the full 90 minutes in five of the U.S. U-17s’ six games in the tournament, adding one assist in the opening group stage game against Jamaica on Sargent’s 87th-minute goal. The only game Lindsey missed was the third group stage contest with El Salvador, when the U.S. rested several starters after clinching qualification to the Classification Stage behind wins over Jamaica and Mexico.
The U.S. U-17s qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup with wins over Honduras and Cuba in the Classification Stage. That tournament will take place in India from Oct. 6-28, 2017.
The U.S. were seconds away from claiming the CONCACAF U-17 Championship title but conceded a 92nd-minute goal to Mexico in the final to send the game to penalties with the final score 1-1. Mexico kept their nerve and converted all five of their penalty kicks while Akil Watts missed for the U.S. as El Tri won 5-4 on penalties.
Lindsey has now appeared in more than 20 games for the U.S. U-17s, recording four assists. He previously represented his country at the U-15 and U-16 levels.
A native of Charlotte, N.C., Lindsey signed an Academy contract with the Swope Park Rangers in May 2016. He made two appearances for the club last season – including his first professional start against Real Monarchs SLC on Aug. 13 – before joining the U.S. U-17 Residency Program in late August.
