July 11, 2008

USC head coach Ali Khosroshahin has gotten the call-up from esteemed Mexico coach Leonardo Cuellar to help lead Mexico's Under-17 Women's National Team this month at the CONCACAF U-17 Championship Tournament. Khosroshahin and the U-17 Mexico squad will settle in for action in Trinidad & Tobago from July 17-27. Mexico joins seven other teams in Trinidad & Tobago in search for qualification for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup to be held later this year in New Zealand.

Khosroshahin has spent previous time working alongside Mexico's Cuellar, and even had the opportunity to face off against his own mentor earlier this year. Soon after the Trojans won their first-ever NCAA Championship - earning Khosroshahin a place in NCAA history as the first coach to lead a team to the national title in his first year with the program -- the USC team played Cuellar's full Mexican National Team at the Los Angeles Coliseum. For Khosroshahin, serving as an assistant once again for Cuellar for this summer's CONCACAF U-17 Championships is a welcome chance to widen his coaching experience.

"I am excited to be working with the future of the Mexican National Team, and I'm very happy to be assisting coach Cuellar again," Khosroshahin said. "This has to be one of the most talented teams to represent Mexico. We have high hopes for this group and can hardly wait to begin qualifying!"

This month at the CONCACAF U-17 Championships, Mexico will be competing in Group B with Canada, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. In Group A are the United States, Costa Rica, El Salvador and hosts Trinidad & Tobago.