CARSON, Calif. – LA Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts has been named to Jamaica’s 23-man roster for the upcoming CONCACAF Gold Cup. Jamaica head coach Theodore Whitmore announced his squad on Monday ahead of the start of a training camp for the team in Brazil. Ricketts, who was a member of Jamaica’s Gold Cup teams in 2003, 2005 and 2009, will not attend the camp in Brazil, meaning that he will be available for selection in Wednesday’s game against Houston and then again in Saturday’s game at New England, before joining up with the rest of his National Team teammates in Los Angeles next week.
The CONCACAF Gold Cup will begin on Sunday, June 5 at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas before culminating with the tournament final on Saturday, June 25 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. Jamaica will open play in Group B at The Home Depot Center against Grenada on Monday, June 6 before going on to face Guatemala on Friday, June 11 at FIU Stadium in Miami and then rounding out group play against Honduras on Monday, June 13 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. Media members looking to receive credentials to cover the Gold Cup can apply for credentials through this website. All applications must be received by 2 p.m. (PT) on Friday, May 27.
A member of Jamaica’s team at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Ricketts made his international debut in July 2000 and has gone on to amass 76 caps with the Reggae Boyz. He was on Jamaica’s roster at the 2003 Gold Cup but did not appear in any of their games before playing three times in 2005 as Jamaica reached the tournament quarterfinals. During the last Gold Cup in 2009, Ricketts started all three games that his team played, allowing just two goals in his 270 minutes of action.
Ricketts is second in MLS this season with a 0.67 goals against average, allowing just six goals in his nine games played, recording a 4-1-4 record and keeping four clean sheets. He has missed four games with the Galaxy this season, not playing in any of the club’s first three games while recovering from a hamstring injury while also missing the 4-1 win over Sporting Kansas City on May 14 because of an illness. In the four games that Ricketts has missed, the Galaxy are 2-1-1. Since Ricketts joined the Galaxy prior to the start of the 2009 season, the 33-year-old goalkeeper has missed nine game with the team recording a 4-2-3 mark in those contests, including a 2-0-0 mark in 2009 when he missed two games while playing for Jamaica at the Gold Cup. He will be available for the Galaxy’s next two games, including Wednesday night’s home game against the Houston Dynamo, before joining up with his national team. He will miss at least two Galaxy games while representing his country and could miss as many as four if Jamaica reach the late rounds of the tournament.
Wednesday night’s game against the Dynamo kicks off at 7:30 p.m. and can be seen live on Prime Ticket starting with the Galaxy Live pregame show at 7 p.m. For more information about this game and to purchase tickets, please visit www.lagalaxy.com.
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