U.S. to host 2012 men’s Olympic qualifying; Chivas USA and Galaxy add players

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The U.S has been selected to stage regional qualifying for the men’s soccer tournament at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, CONCACAF announced Tuesday.

Qualifying will take place in March in a city or cities to be decided.

Meanwhile, Chivas USA and the Galaxy both added players to their roster Tuesday when Major League Soccer held its 2011 Supplemental Draft.

Chivas USA Coach Robin Fraser selected 21-year-old Sacramento State midfielder Ernesto Carranza with the 22nd overall pick. Carranza, a Mexican citizen, had 113 goals and 114 assists at Oakdale High and then became the all-time assist leader at Sacramento State, scoring 18 goals and adding 20 assists in 82 games.

Fraser also selected Alabama-Birmingham central defender Curtis Ushedo with the 40th overall pick. Ushedo, 21, from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, is 6 feet 4 and 195 pounds and has trained with Canada’s under-23 national team.

Galaxy Coach Bruce Arena had the third overall pick and used it to land Dartmouth midfielder Daniel Keat, 23, from Wellington, New Zealand. Keat was a member of New Zealand’s 2008 Olympic team. Arena also chose Stanford defender Ryan Thomas of Claremont (16th overall); North Carolina midfielder Dustin McCarty (34th), the brother of D.C. United midfielder Dax McCarty; and West Virginia goalkeeper Zach Johnson (52nd).

Two Southern California-based players were the top two selections in the Supplemental Draft, with both going to expansion teams. Defender Michael Boxall of UC Santa Barbara was the top player chosen and was taken by the Vancouver Whitecaps. The Portland Timbers made UC Irvine forward Spencer Thompson their first pick and the No. 2 overall.

The 18 MLS teams begin training later this week ahead of the season starting March 15.

--Grahame L. Jones