Notebook: U-23s players to be featured in FOX Soccer’s college game coverage

While the page has turned on the 2012 Premier Development League (PDL) season, Portland fans will still be able to watch Timbers U-23s players in action this fall as they return to their respective college teams; this time, on TV.

FOX Soccer will broadcast 13 NCAA Division-I men's soccer matchups this fall, including four games which will feature Timbers U-23s players, as part of its 2012 NCAA Game of the Week lineup.

On Friday, Sept. 7, goalkeeper Spencer Richey and the University of Washington heads East to Storrs, Conn., as they take on UConn at 4 p.m. (Pacific). The University of Louisville, featuring U-23s defender Brock Granger, plays host to BIG EAST rival St. Johns on Saturday, Oct. 13 at 4 p.m. (Pacific). In a West Coast Conference showdown on Friday, Oct. 26, Erik Hurtado and Santa Clara square off against the University of Portland, which has four Timbers U-23s players on its roster, at 7 p.m. (Pacific). Heading down South, forward Mark Sherrod leads Memphis against SMU on Friday, Nov. 2, at 5 p.m. (Pacific).

An All-Pac-12 selection in 2011, Richey (Seattle, Wash.) returns to Washington for his senior season this fall. He played in 14 matches for the Timbers U-23s during the 2012 PDL campaign, compiling a 0.97 goal-against average and a 9-3-2 record during the regular season.

Granger (Honolulu, Hawaii) played in the final three matches of the 2012 PDL season for the Timbers U-23s after recovering from an offseason injury. He too returns for his senior campaign this fall. Granger recorded two assists in 14 games for Louisville as a junior in 2011.

Hurtado (Beaverton, Ore.) finished the 2012 PDL season among the Timbers U-23s leading goal-scorers with six goals. As a junior in 2011, he led the WCC in scoring with 19 points on six goals and seven assists. Entering his senior season in 2012, Hurtado has recorded 18 goals in 57 career games for the Broncos.

The four Timbers U-23s players on the Univ. of Portland roster – midfielders Steven Evans (Troutdale, Ore.) and Ricardo Carrillo (Prineville, Ore.), defender Marc Tonkel (Los Gatos, Calif.) and goalkeeper Justin Baarts (Surrey, B.C.) – were all big contributors for the Pilots in 2011. Evans and Carrillo were the Pilots’ top two leading scorers last season and each garnered all-conference honors, while Baarts (pictured above) and Tonkel played in all 20 games.

A PDL All-League selection, Sherrod (Knoxville, Tenn.) had a standout season for the Timbers U-23s in 2012, finishing as the Western Conference’s leading scorer with 11 goals and three assists. He returns to Memphis for his junior season, looking to build upon an All-American season in 2011. Sherrod is on the watch list for the 2012 MAC Hermann Trophy.

FOX Soccer's 2012 NCAA Division-I Men’s Soccer Game of the Week Schedule
Aug. 18 - Chivas de Guadalajara U-23 vs. Indiana
Aug. 24 - Michigan at South Florida
Sept. 7 - Washington at UConn
Sept. 14 - St. John's at Akron
Sept. 21 - Virginia at North Carolina
Sept. 21 - UCLA at UC Santa Barbara
Sept. 28 - George Mason at Old Dominion
Oct. 5 - Virginia at Maryland
Oct. 13 - St. John's at Louisville
Oct. 19 - Cal Poly at UC Santa Barbara
Oct. 26 - Portland at Santa Clara
Nov. 2 - SMU at Memphis
Nov. 9 - Brown at Dartmouth