RENTON, Wash. – Seattle Sounders FC defender DeAndre Yedlin has been selected to the 2013 AT&T MLS All-Star roster, MLS announced today. The MLS All-Stars will compete against AS Roma on July 31 at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. PT on ESPN2, UniMas, TSN and RDS.
Yedlin, 20, was selected to the team as one of two additions by MLS Commissioner Don Garber. Yedlin is the first Homegrown Player selected since Juan Agudelo in 2011, and the last rookie selected was Michael Parkhurst in 2005.
Yedlin became the first Homegrown Player signed by the club after attending Seattle’s O’Dea High School and the University of Akron while also participating in the Sounders FC Academy and U-23 programs. He became the youngest player in club history to play a complete game and record an assist. He has logged 1,180 minutes (fifth on Sounders FC) and he has started 13 of the club’s 17 regular-season matches.
Yedlin is Seattle’s lone representative on the 2013 MLS All-Star team. Osvaldo Alonso earned All-Star honors the past two seasons, and Eddie Johnson was also named to last year’s team. Kasey Keller earned the honors from 2009-2011, Fredy Montero was named to the team three times (2009, 2010 and 2012) and Freddie Ljungberg was honored in 2009 and 2010.
Because of the competitive format -- MLS vs. the World -- of the AT&T All-Star Game, MLS asked All-Star head coach Peter Vermes to select from among all available players, and he constructed a dynamic, balanced roster loaded with the League’s top talent.
Vermes selected all 11 of the original fan-voted All-Stars. Nine roster selections are MLS All-Stars for the first time, with 12 of the 19 MLS teams represented.
The roster is below, listed in alphabetical order by last name. Players are listed by the position they are most likely to play in the AT&T MLS All-Star Game, which is not necessarily the position they play for their respective clubs.
2013 MLS All-Star Gameday Roster
Goalkeeper: Raul Fernández (FC Dallas), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
Defenders: Corey Ashe (Houston Dynamo), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Tony Beltran (Real Salt Lake), Aurélien Collin (Sporting Kansas City), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders FC)
Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Patrice Bernier (Montreal Impact), Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Will Johnson (Portland Timbers), Mike Magee (Chicago Fire), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
Forwards: Marco Di Vaio (Montreal Impact), Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls), Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy), Camilo Sanvezzo (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
