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Aaron Dennis, Shavon John-Brown Look To Make Impact In Upcoming Concacaf Nations League Games

Both forwards have a pair of games in mid-October
Published Oct 10, 2019

New York Cosmos forwards Aaron Dennis and Shavon John-Brown have been called into their respective national teams to compete in the Concacaf Nations League this month.
 
Dennis, who scored twice in the 3-1 home win over Chattanooga FC on September 28, will fly down to perform with the U.S. Virgin Islands squad. John-Brown, who set up Dennis' first goal in the NPSL Members Cup game and then tallied his first goal in the 2-1 win against the Milwaukee Torrent, will play for Grenada.
 
"I'm excited," Dennis said. "It's always an honor to represent your country."
 
Dennis said that playing for the USVI is "just added motivation."
 
"If I feel a little bit lazy, I have to go to the gym," he added. "If I feel tired at practice, I have to make that extra sprint or two just to get myself fit for the international speed of play."
 
The USVI national team (1-1-0, 3 points), which is in third place, will meet second-place Barbados (1-1-0, 3) in a home-and-home series in League C Group A. The Dashing Eagle visits Barbados on Oct. 12 before hosting their Caribbean rivals on Oct. 15.
 
It is rare when teams meet in back-to-back games so close in international competition with so much on the line.
 
"We played them before but there's a lot of new faces on both sides," Dennis said. "It will be a tough test, but two important games."
 
While Dennis and John-Brown are competing in separate divisions, they still talk about the Nations League.
 
"Shevie and I talk all the time about it," he said. "I hope he does well, and he hopes I do well."
 
John-Brown and Grenada will have their hands full in League B Group A
 
The group-leader Spice Boys (2-0-0, 6 points) will play at second-place French Guiana (1-0-1, 4) on Oct. 10 before hosting the same side Oct. 13. If they win both games Grenada will be in the driver's seat to clinch the group crown, qualify for the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup, and earn promotion to League A. Grenada, which is coached by former St. John’s University standout and perennial Major League Soccer all-star Shalrie Joseph, last competed in the Gold Cup in 2011.
 
"It would be good for the country because soccer back there is on the high," John-Brown said. "They want to get everything going in the right way."
 
After the October matches, Grenada has one more game remaining, hosting Belize on November 17, while the USVI will visit the Cayman Islands on November 16 in its finale.