Minnesota United and MLS NEXT today announced that MNUFC Academy midfielder Kage Romanshyn was selected to play for the West Team in the second-annual MLS NEXT All-Star Game presented by Allstate. The game will provide a world-class experience for North America’s rising stars to showcase their talents in an East vs. West format at the Naval Academy’s Glenn Warner Soccer Facility in Annapolis, Md. on Wednesday, July 19 at 9:30 a.m. CT.

Romanshyn, an 18-year-old midfielder from Apple Valley, Minnesota, is the lone Loon to represent Minnesota United at the MLS NEXT All-Star Game. Across the 2022-23 MLS NEXT season, the midfielder made 15 game appearances, eight starts, and was a mainstay in the U19 midfield. Throughout the winter, spring and current summer months, he has also trained and made four game appearances for MNUFC2 in MLS NEXT Pro regular-season action. Romanshyn notably provided an assist for the first MNUFC2 goal in the first match of the 2023 season on a snow-covered pitch in Salt Lake City against the Real Monarchs.

“I’m really honored and happy that my coaches have believed in me and that I’ve been given this opportunity to represent the club and go play in the [MLS NEXT] All-Star Game and show that Minnesota United can compete,” said MNUFC Academy U19 midfielder Kage Romanshyn. “I’m really excited. I think it’s honestly an honor to also kind of be with the All-Stars, the first-team guys in MLS.”

MLS NEXT and Allstate will provide the selected players with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity during MLS All-Star Week, which will include a full slate of evening programming events and activities in advance of the match. The players will be fully integrated into MLS All-Star Week festivities, which include team training, the All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T 5G on July 18 and the MLS All-Star Game on July 19. Each MLS NEXT All-Star team will also conduct their own training sessions leading up to their match on Wednesday morning.

The 44 players were selected by MLS NEXT personnel following the conclusion of the 2023 MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs and Showcase. To be eligible for selection, players must have been born between 2005-2007, 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.

The match will be streamed live from MLS NEXT’s (@mlsnext) TikTok account with multiple access points in the app.