Aug. 7, 2006

For complete coverage of the Milk Cup visit U.S. Soccer's website.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara University freshman Amaechi Igwe appeared in all three matches for the United States Under-20 national team, coached by Thomas Rongen, as it earned a second place finish at the 2006 Milk Cup in Northern Ireland this past week. Igwe started two of the three games as the U.S. had another strong international showing.

In the opener of the tournament, the U.S. defeated Wales 3-0 on July 31 with Igwe entering the match in the 67th minute. The Americans allowed just two shots in the dominating performance. Igwe's strong play as a sub earned him a start on the backline in the second game against Denmark on Aug. 2. The San Francisco, Calif. native played the full 90 minutes as the U.S. earned a 2-2 draw to advance to the final against Paraguay.

Igwe made his second consecutive start against the South American side over the weekend, playing 70 minutes before being subbed off. Rongen's squad could not pull out a victory as Paraguay took home a 2-0 win with goals in each half to win its third Milk Cup title. The U.S. was unable to defend the title that the Under-18 team won in 2005 with the aid of current Broncos Jamil Roberts, Brian Martin and Jeff Cosgriff.

Igwe has now appeared in the past five U.S. Under-20 matches. He previously played in two games against Canada in July and notched his first goal as a member of the Under-20 team to help the U.S. go unbeaten against the Canadians.

Prior to arriving at Santa Clara in January, Igwe, 18, played at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. and was a part of the U.S. Under-17 residency program. He played in 18 career international games for the U.S. at the Under-17 level and scored one goal. In 2005, he played in 36 total games and scored five goals, before committing to Santa Clara, where he follows in his brother Kelechi's footsteps.