HERRIMAN, Utah (Wednesday, November 16, 2022) – Real Salt Lake Academy forward Zavier Gozo has been named to the U-16 United States Youth National Team by Head Coach Michael Nsien for a series of friendlies in Spain.
The call-up marks the first for Gozo at the U-16 level. However, Gozo, 15, has represented the Stars-and-Stripes several times in the last year with the U-15 United States Youth National Team, including multiple camps and international competitions, such as the Torneo delle Nazioni where he faced Austria, Italy and Slovenia.
A Utah Native, Gozo has been on a scoring spree since the start of the 2022-23 MLS NEXT season, scoring a team-leading nine goals in eight matches thus far. The forward is coming off of a stellar season with the U-15 side, leading the Claret-and-Cobalt to the Generation adidas Cup Semifinal and the MLS NEXT Cup Final, where he scored the team’s lone goal in the 2-1 loss to Inter Miami. Additionally, Gozo was awarded the MLS NEXT Cup Golden Boot, leading all players with five goals during the competition. During the 2021-22 regular season the forward netted 16 goals, more than any other Claret-and-Cobalt player.
The Real Salt Lake Academy will now travel to the Bay Area to face San Jose Earthquakes for the second-consecutive weekend on Saturday, November 19 before finishing off the first half of the MLS NEXT regular-season against De Anza Force on Sunday, November 20.
