COLUMBUS – Columbus Crew SC today announced that midfielder Wil Trapp and goalkeeper Zack Steffen have received international call-ups from the United States Men’s National Team. The U.S. are set to face Paraguay in a friendly match at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina on March 27.
The United States’ match against Paraguay is the first of three scheduled friendlies for the Stars and Stripes over the next four months. Additionally, the contest marks the first U.S. Men’s National Team match in North Carolina since a 1-1 draw in a friendly against Jamaica on April 11, 2006.
Trapp, the Black & Gold's captain, has represented the U.S. Men’s National Team on three occasions, with his last appearance coming as a starter in a 0-0 draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina on January 28, 2018. In addition to making his first start for the Stars and Stripes, Trapp also captained the senior national team for the first time in his career. Previously, Trapp represented the U.S. at the youth level, having participated in Olympic qualifying with the U.S. Under-23 squad, captaining the team against Colombia in both legs of the playoff for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
During the 2017 MLS season, his fifth with Crew SC, Trapp made 34 regular-season appearances (all starts) setting a new personal career-high in matches played, minutes played (3,035) and assists (five) provided in a single season. Per Opta, Trapp led the League in completed passes (2,034) and was one of only two players, along with Toronto FC’s Michael Bradley, to successfully complete over 2,000 passes during the 2017 regular season.
Steffen recently earned his first cap for the U.S. Men’s National Team, coming in as a substitute for Bill Hamid in the second half of the United States’ 0-0 draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina on January 28, 2018. Prior to featuring for the U.S. Men’s National Team, Steffen featured consistently for the United States’ national youth teams, from the U-14 to the U-21 level.
Now in his third season with Crew SC, Steffen is coming off a 2017 campaign in which he made 34 regular-season appearances. The 22-year-old played every minute of every match during the regular season, registering 16 wins and nine shutouts, both club records for a Crew SC goalkeeper in his first year of play. Steffen also finished the regular season with 98 saves, tied with Bill Hamid for fourth-most saves in the League and behind only Joe Bendik (173), Bobby Shuttleworth (116) and Luis Robles (99).
