USOC Matchup Changes; Pineda to US U-20 Team

If the Charlotte Eagles end up beating the Sounders U-23 team, their matchup against the Men in Red would take place on Wednesday, May 29th at 6 PM instead of the original Tuesday, May 28th date. Keep in mind this game would be play at Winthrop University in South Carolina. Should the Sounders U-23 team win, the Fire will be hosting them at Toyota Park on May 28th. So, either way the Fire will find out who and where they are playing, and soon.

Also, for those that didn't see this last week (I apologize for not getting this up sooner), here's an interesting look at the behind the scenes process for the USOC draw. The Fire's own Jeff Crandall was made privy to the inner workings of this process. You should definitely read the article. It helps shed light on a seemingly secretive process. One thing is for certain, it will be nice to kick off the campaign for our 5th USOC title. Let's hope the tournament goes much better than the 2013 season thus far.

In other news, Victor Pineda will once again play for the US U-20 team. He had a successful 2012 for that team, scoring 3 goals and adding an assist in 6 appearances. Pineda will be away from the team from May 28-June 8th. Definitely, congrats are in order for Victor.For some reason he hasn't been getting a look from Frank Klopas despite the team needing steady midfield production and not getting it this year. I have no reason why he isn't getting some playing time now that he's healthy. At least Victor will be seeing some good, steady minutes for the U-20 team. And let's hope we see much more of him in Fire red as the season progresses too.