Fox Chapel’s Wes Carnevale joins elite youth soccer membership and indicators up with Cornell

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Saturday, July 24, 2021 | 8:01 a.m.

Fox Chapel’s Wes Carnevale will play for the MLS Next League in Manheim, Lancaster County.

A Carnevale family reunion will be held in the Finger Lakes area of ​​New York in the fall of 2022.

Wes Carnevale, an ascending senior at Fox Chapel, signed up to Cornell University. The announcement comes on the heels of his older brother Will, who is moving to Cornell from Lehigh University.

But first things first. As Will adjusts to the Ivy League lifestyle, Wes doesn’t play football for the Foxes and instead signed with the Manheim, Lancaster County-based MLS Next League.

But at the moment Wes is packing for a trip to Coge, Denmark, to represent the USA in an international U19 tournament starting on Sunday.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Wes said as he prepared to leave his Aspinwall home for the tournament. “Capelli Sport is the sponsor of MLS Next. They take players from all over the place and wanted to invite me. “

The 5-foot-10, 150-pound midfielder does not expect language barriers as English is widely taught in schools in Western European countries.

“They all speak English, so I don’t expect any communication problems,” said Carnevale. “I’m blessed that coach (Steve) Klein invited me.”

Klein directs MLS Next, formerly known as PA Classics in the US Soccer Developmental Association.

Since Carnevale signed with MLS Next, he will not be able to play for the Fox Chapel High School football team this season. MLS consists of up to 68 teams in the USA, which represent the highest levels up to U19.

So far this summer, Carnevale has been training with Stefan Lundberg of the Legends of Pittsburgh fitness center at the Pittsburgh Mills mall. Former Valley News Dispatch Footballer of the Year with his record breaking performance in the Kiski Area, Lundberg also played at Duquesne University from 2007 to 2010 and played for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in the pros for three seasons.

Lundberg said: “He and his brother Will are two of the best players I have ever coached. Wes has improved and come a long way and he hasn’t reached a plateau. He’s a smart player, extremely persistent and aggressive, and has great vision and speed. “

In the fall, Wes’s parents will drive him to Manheim for training on Wednesdays and back to games on Saturdays. On November 10, Wes can officially renounce his commitment to Cornell, as the deadline for the early signature of the national letter of intent begins. The final signature period begins on February 2, 2022.

The last time the Carnevale brothers played together as sixth and eighth graders in youth football. Will Carnevale signed with Lehigh in 2020 but took a break last fall. He re-signed to Cornell and will play for Big Red this fall.

Wes said he was considering Cornell even when his brother initiated his transfer.

“I had some good conversations with coach (John) Smith and thought I could do best under him,” said Wes Carnevale. “There are a lot of old buildings there and there is a practice facility off campus.”

“I expect him to excel in college and he has all the qualities to get to the next level after that,” said Lundberg.

Tags: Fox Chapel