Patrick Schulte shines for U.S. U-23 team

Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte showed why he got a call up from the U.S. Men’s U-23 Youth National Team when he helped lead them to a 2-1 win over Mexico Thursday night in Phoenix.

The difference maker

According to American Soccer Now, Schulte was a big reason for the positive outcome. After the U.S. scored late in the first half, Mexico opened the second by putting on a lot of pressure. Schulte made multiple saves, including an outstanding one on a shot off of a corner kick in the 58th minute. He held Mexico off the board until the U.S. could extend their lead to 2-0 in the 90th minute. Mexico’s goal came just before time expired.

A long way to go

Although Schulte justified head coach Marko Mitrovic’s confidence in him, this is only the beginning of the Olympic preparation process. The team is carrying three goalkeepers for this training camp, but only two will make the trip to Paris for the 2024 Olympics. Mitrovic told azcentral.com, “We’re only three days in. I think the best evaluation will come after the end of camp.” Mitrovic plans to closely go over video of the team’s performances in order to make accurate player evaluations.

Hey, what about the other guy?

If you recall, Schulte is not the only member of the Crew on the U.S. roster. Midfielder Aidan Morris is a part of the team as well. All I can tell you right now is he did not start Thursday night’s game, but since mass substitutions were made by Mitrovic, I’m going to assume Morris played. How much and what he did is a mystery, because he is not mentioned in any report I’ve managed to find. If I learn anything, I’ll make sure to update this story.

The next game for the U.S. Men’s U-23 Youth National Team is October 17th against Japan.