Frisco, Texas (July 2, 2024) – North Texas SC midfielder Leonardo Orejarena has been selected to play in the third annual MLS NEXT All-Star match presented by Allstate. The match will be played at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday, July 23 at 10:30AM CT. The game will be live streamed live on YouTube.
Orejarena, 17, signed with North Texas SC on November 3, 2023. He made his professional debut versus Tacoma Defiance on April 14.
“I want to thank MLS NEXT for giving me this opportunity,” Midfielder Leonardo Orejarena said. “I would also like to thank North Texas SC and FC Dallas Academy staff because without their support none of this would be possible. They push me to be a better person and player every day and I am thankful for that.”
Orejarena competed for the FC Dallas U17 team in MLS NEXT Fest, Generation adidas Cup and MLS NEXT over the 2024 season. He also featured for the FCD U19 squad in the MLS NEXT Cup. Orejarena is the fourth member of the FC Dallas organization to be named to the MLS NEXT All-Star roster after Malachi Molina (2022), Julian Eyestone (2023) and Luke Shreiner (2023).
MLS NEXT and Allstate will provide the players with unique opportunities during MLS All-Star Week, which will include a full slate of programming events and activities in advance of the match. The players will be fully immersed in MLS All-Star Week festivities, which include team training, the All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T on July 23, and the MLS All-Star Game on July 24. Each MLS NEXT All-Star team will also conduct their own training sessions leading up to their match on Tuesday morning.
The 44 players were selected following the conclusion of the 2024 MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs and Showcase. To be eligible for selection, players must have been born between 2007-2009, have competed in the MLS NEXT regular season, and played in at least one of the MLS NEXT premier events this season – MLS NEXT Fest, MLS NEXT Flex, Generation adidas Cup, or the MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs and Showcase.
East | West | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | Birth Year | Player | Team | Birth Year |
Adyn Torres | Atlanta United | 2007 | Anthony Boyadjian | Albion SC LA | 2007 |
Sergey Balatsko | BW Gottschee | 2007 | Gavin Wolff | Austin FC | 2008 |
Stefan Chirila | FC Cincinnati | 2007 | Joshua Sosa | Barca Residency Academy | 2007 |
Jayson Quintanilla | Charlotte FC | 2007 | Miguel Alvarado | Colorado Rapids | 2008 |
Simon Tonidandel | Charlotte FC | 2007 | Zackory Campagnolo | Colorado Rapids | 2007 |
Vitaliy Hlyut | Chicago Fire FC | 2008 | Leo Orejarena | North Texas SC | 2007 |
Chase Adams | Columbus Crew | 2008 | Isaac Mwakutuya | Houston Dynamo FC | 2007 |
Tristan Brown | Columbus Crew | 2007 | Ian James | Sporting Kansas City | 2008 |
Gavin Turner | D.C. United | 2007 | DeCarlo Guerra | LAFC | 2008 |
Liam Briscoe | FC DELCO | 2008 | Pedro Guimaraes | LAFC | 2008 |
Michael Capretto | FC DELCO | 2008 | Jose 'Pepe' Magana Jr. | LA Galaxy | 2007 |
Cai McLean | Inter Miami CF | 2008 | Owen Pratt | LA Galaxy | 2008 |
Felix Samson | CF Montréal | 2007 | Mateo Tsakiris | LA Galaxy | 2007 |
Chris Applewhite | Nashville SC | 2007 | Darius Randell | Minnesota United FC | 2007 |
DaMario McIntosh | New England Revolution | 2007 | Max Eisenberg | Portland Timbers | 2007 |
Drew Baiera | New York City FC | 2007 | Luca Moisa | Real Salt Lake | 2008 |
Colin Guske | Orlando City SC | 2007 | Tomo Allen | San Jose Earthquakes | 2007 |
Juan Rojas | Orlando City SC | 2008 | Rohan Rajagopal | San Jose Earthquakes | 2007 |
Diego Rocio | Philadelphia Union | 2007 | Etienne Veillard | Seattle Sounders FC | 2007 |
Cavan Sullivan | Philadelphia Union | 2009 | Tyson Pearce | St. Louis CITY SC | 2007 |
Lucas Ferreira | Players Development Academy | 2007 | Skylar Kaplan | Strikers FC | 2007 |
Pablo Patrick-Galvez | Toronto FC | 2007 | Liam Mackenzie | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 2007 |
