Williams hired to lead US Under-18s

Richie Williams, who won three MLS titles as a player and coached the New York Red Bulls as an interim coach on two separate occasions, has been named the head coach of the U.S. under-18 national team, replacing Mike Matkovich.

Williams is the third coaching appointment to the U.S. youth national team program since Jurgen Klinsmann began his tenure as men’s national team, but he has close ties to Klinsmann's two predecessors, Bruce Arena and Bob Bradley.

Williams played under Arena at Virginia and on D.C. United. Bradley was one of his youth coaches on the Union Lancers.

After retiring as a player in 2005, Williams spent one season as an assistant at Virginia and then moved to the Red Bulls, where he worked as an assistant until he was fired on the eve of the 2011 season.

Two other coaches with close ties to Bradley were not retained.

U.S. Soccer director of scouting Tony Lepore will coach the U-15s, whom Princeton coach Jim Barlow has coached, and the U.S. Soccer Development Academy's technical advisers will handle the coaching duties of the U-14 national identification program that Seton Hall coach Manny Schellscheidt has headed.

Barlow played for Bradley at Princeton and replaced him as head coach when Bradley moved to MLS to assist Arena at D.C. United, while Schellscheidt coached the Lancers with Bradley.