|
|
||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||
|
 |
|
|
US U17s Lose to SpainKANO, Nigeria (Oct. 26, 2009) - The U.S. U-17 Men’s National Team took advantage of an early red card to Spain to get on the scoreboard in the fourth minute of their opening game of the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup, but the seven-time European champions soon showed their class in clawing back two goals of their own to take a 2-1 victory at Sani Abacha Stadium in Kano. With the result, the U.S. is now 6-7-0 in FIFA U-17 World Cup openers, and 4-7-2 at the event against European teams. Five of their last eight matches at the event have come against UEFA foes, and the U.S. has come away with a 2-3-0 record. ?? The two group favorites played a crowd-pleasing match up and down the pitch. The U.S. started the match on the attack, taking it to the Spaniards down the right side. Luis Gil launched a deep ball for Jack McInerney to run onto, and run onto it he did—clearly beating Spanish defender Sergi Gomez, who could do little but try to tackle the ball away from behind. The resulting foul was an obvious red card for denying the goal-scoring opportunity, and Spain quickly found themselves down a man in the second minute. ?? Two minutes later, the U.S. took full advantage with a goal by McInerney, who challenged the Spanish goalkeeper on a high, lofted ball from Marlon Duran off a throw-in. The high cross fell through the hands of Edgar at the edge of his six-yard box and McInerney only had to tap the ball across the line behind the goalkeeper. The goal was a team-leading tenth in 2009 for the forward from Alpharetta, Ga. ? Both of Spain’s goals came in the first half, in the 22nd and 30th minutes. “I think it was a very good match," U.S. head coach Wilmer Cabrera said. "We had to play against one of the favorite teams, and we started off with some positive things, we scored quickly. They reacted very well, they had a brilliant 10 minutes and they put themselves in a good position. “After that obviously our kids started to react, to put pressure on Spain and start to come back, but they (Spain) did a very good job defending. We tried to play and we created options but we didn’t score. When they had the opportunities, they were clinical with their finishing. That’s why they are at that level right now." With the loss, the U.S. falls to third after Matchday 1 of Group E after Matchday 1 of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, ahead of Malawi, who fell to the United Arab Emirates 2-0 earlier in the day. Spain takes second in the group, behind U.A.E. The U.S. will look to rebound against Malawi in their next match on Oct. 29 at 11 a.m. ET. The match will be broadcast on ESPNU, Galavision and ESPN360.com. Fans can also follow along with ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker and at twitter.com/ussoccer. U.S. U-17 Men's National Team Match Report Match: U.S. U-17 MNT vs. Spain? USA – Jack McInerney (Marlon Duran) 4th minute?ESP – Borja
(Pablo Sarabia) 22?ESP – Pablo Sarabia (Borja) 30 Top of PageRemainder of U-17 Championships CancelledNEW YORK (Monday, 27 April 2009) – Due to the growing concerns about the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico, CONCACAF General Secretary Chuck Blazer announced Monday that the remainder of the confederation’s Under-17 Championship in Tijuana has been cancelled and the second-leg of the CONCACAF Champions League£ finals has been postponed. Mexican authorities previously had closed schools in Mexico City and on Monday extended that decision nationwide. Based on the actions of the Mexican government, CONCACAF responded to safeguard the health of players, officials and fans. Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico and the USA all had clinched berths the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2009, and were to play the semifinals on Wednesday with the championship and third-place match scheduled for Saturday. The four semifinalists will advance to the U-17 World Cup in Nigeria from 24 October - 15 November. The second-leg of the CONCACAF Champions League£ finals between CD SC Cruz Azul (MEX) and Atlante FC (MEX) was to be played Wednesday in Cancun, but that game now will be delayed until Tuesday, 12 May at 9 p.m. local (10 p.m. EDT). Atlante leads the two-game title series 2-0 from its opening win in Mexico City last Wednesday. The CONCACAF Beach Championship in Puerto Vallarta, scheduled to begin Wednesday and continue through Sunday, is under review with a final decision expected Tuesday. Top of PageUSA U-17s Win GroupThe USA completed group play at the Under-17 CONCACAF Championship with another offensive display, scoring three first-half goals en route to a 3-0 victory over Honduras Saturday in Tijuana. It gave the Americans three wins and 12 goals in three outings. With a berth to the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Nigeria locked up, Coach Wilmer Cabrera started new players against Honduras, which has lost all six matches it has played against the USA at the U-17 qualifiers. Nicholas Palodichuck, who had not played in either of the first two games, scored the first and third goals for the USA. Jack McInerney added a goal in the 28th minute, bringing his total to five goals in three games. Palodichuk's first goal came in the 28th minute when he pounced on the rebound of Joseph Gyau's hard shot that Honduras goalkeeper Jesus Rivera did well to parry. Eight minutes later, McInerney received a ball from Gyau on the left side of the penalty area, took two touches to get inside the box and curled his shot around Rivera and inside the far post. Palodichuk completed the scoring in stoppage time of the first half, striking with the outside of his left foot from 25 yards after McInerney laid the ball off to him. With Dustin Corea and Emilio Orozco both entering the game at the start of the second half, all 20 players on the U.S. roster saw action during the group phase. "It was a pretty match," said Cabrera. "We had six players play who were not starters and with the other five players, we confronted a Honduran team who knew they had qualified already and that probably changed their perspective of the game. Our first objective was to qualify for the World Cup. Our second objective was to play the greatest number of players possible. We have accomplished our tasks and we have done it by winning." Cuba's 2-1 win over Canada earlier on Saturday had clinched the Catrachos' place in Nigeria. Other qualifiers for Nigeria '09 include New Zealand, which won the Oceania bid on Friday afternoon, Nigeria, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Gambia and Malawi representing Africa, Iran, Japan, South Korea and Uzbekistan from Asia. The South American tournament is currently underway in Inquique, Chile. Match: U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team vs. Honduras Scoring Summary: 1 2 F USA – Nicholas Palodichuk (Joseph Gyau) 28th minute Lineups: HON: 1-Jesus Rivera Coto; 3-John Rivera Reyes, 4-Ever Alvarado, 5-Helder
Martinez Reyes, 7-Wilmer Fuentes (9-Diego Rodriguez, 66), 10-Alexander
Agustin Lopez, 11-Antony Lozano Colon (capt.) (17-Jose Sanchez Paz, 80),
13-Jose Tobias Chavez, 14-Allan Rivas Flores, 16-Jair Aragon Castellon
(8-Roberto Lopez Mejia, 46), 18-Nestor Martinez Stats Summary: USA / HON Misconduct Summary: ussoccer.com Man of the Match: Top of PageU.S. U-17 MNT Beats Canada 4-2TIJUANA, Mexico (April 23, 2009) – The U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team defeated Canada 4-2 on Thursday evening earn a place in the semifinals of the CONCACAF U-17 Championship and one of the region’s four berths to the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup. The U.S. is the only country to qualify for every FIFA U-17 World Cup since the tournament’s inception in 1985. Wilmer Cabrera’s team will head to Nigeria for the tournament from Oct. 24-Nov. 15, as 24 teams from around the world converge on the west-African country with a hope of lifting the U-17 World Cup trophy. The U.S. has a chance to clinch the top spot in Group A with a win or a tie against Honduras on Saturday, April 25, at 4 p.m. PT. Fans can follow Saturday’s game live from Estadio Caliente in Tijuana, Mexico, on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker. "We succeeded in qualifying based on the results of the two games and we have played well, both individually and as a team," said Cabrera. "We are the first qualified team but we want to get to the final of this tournament. “We will continue to work and we have an important game against Honduras that is the game that will decide who will be first in the group. Honduras is going to be playing to qualify, therefore it should be a very intense game." Jack McInerney once again took control of the offense, netting two more goals to take his tally to four in two games, a tournament high. McInerney’s first goal was a penalty kick in just the second minute and the forward added a highlight-reel goal in the 30th minute to help the U.S. to a 2-0 lead. The U.S. took a 3-0 halftime lead on Sebastian Lletget’s second goal of the tournament and rounded out the scoring with a second-half goal from substitute Joseph Gyau. McInerney’s first goal came via the penalty spot, after defender Eriq Zavaleta was fouled early in the game. The 6-foot 1-inch defender was in the box for a corner kick where he was pulled down by a Canadian defender. The referee did not hesitate to point to the spot, and McInerney hit his shot high to give the Canadian goalkeeper no chance. After halftime Canada turned up the pressure in search of something positive on offense. While the U.S. was trying to possess the ball in the midfield, Canada was successful on the counterattack, creating a number of opportunities before finally breaking through in the 70th minute. Francesco Augustin’s throw-in made it into the U.S. penalty area. After a scramble, Janiel Hoilett hit a low shot that sneaked past goalkeeper Earl Edwards to make the game 3-1. Cabrera made his third and final substitution in the 84th minute, bringing on Gyau for Gil. The change paid immediate dividends, with Gyau netting the fourth U.S. goal just seconds after entering the game. Canada wasted no time cutting the lead back to two, and in less than a minute later they capitalized on a U.S. mistake. Jared Watts attempted to head the ball back to Edwards, but the pass was too weak to reach the stranded goalkeeper. Canada’s Coulton Jackson ran around Watts and was able to touch the ball into the goal before Edwards could make the save. Canada, who drew Honduras 1-1 in its opening game, is still alive in the tournament, needing a win against Cuba on Saturday and a U.S. win against Honduras to have a chance of advancing to Nigeria. Cuba, who lost 6-0 to Honduras this afternoon, was mathematically eliminated from contention. Match: U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team vs. Canada Scoring Summary: 1 2 F USA – Jack McInerney (penalty) 2nd minute Lineups: CAN: 1-Richard Causton, 2-Hugo Lapointe-Senecal (14-Coulton Jackson,
65), 3-Feras Samain, 4-Francesco Augustin, 5-Derrick Bassi, 7-Jonathan
Lao (13-Brennan McNicoll, 70), 8-Janeil Hoilett, 11-Russell Teibert (capt.),
12-Kevin Cobby, 19-Justin Maheu, 20-Karl Oumette Stats Summary: USA / CAN Misconduct Summary: ussoccer.com Man of the Match: Top of PageU-17's Open With Big WinThe United States Under-17 National Team beat Cuba 5-0 to start the 2009 CONCACAF U-17 Championship. Stefan Jerome opened the scoring in the 31st minute for the USA. Jack McInerney made it 2-0 four minutes later, and Sebastian Lletget added a third in the 40th minute. McInerney got his second goal of the game in the 48th, and Luis Gil added a goal to his two assists in the 63rd to finish off the scoring. “At first we were a little hesitant, but as the game went on we took control and created opportunities,” U.S. coach Wilmer Cabrera said. “We took advantage of the opportunities that we had. We were very focused on the game and we had several good training sessions. “We had a good victory, but we can’t take anything away from Cuba, they were a great opponent and we must keep our heads in the game against Canada and Honduras.” U.S. keeper Earl Edwards got the shutout without having to make a save. In all, Cuba managed two shots with none on goal. The United States put eleven shots on goal from 16 taken, including McInerney hitting the woodwork twice in the opening 31 minutes. The United States plays Canada on Thursday at 7pm ET. Top of PageCabrera Names 2009 CONCACAF U-17 Qualifying RosterCHICAGO (April 16, 2009) – U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team head coach Wilmer Cabrera has named 20 players who will represent the United States at the 2009 CONCACAF U-17 Championship from April 21-May 2 in Tijuana, Mexico. The four semifinalists at the tournament will qualify for the 2009 FIFA Under-17 World Cup, which is slated for Nigeria from Oct. 24-Nov. 15. “We have been working for a year and a half on this roster,” said Cabrera, who is leading the U.S. through qualifying for the first time since joining the program in the fall of 2007. “At this point, the players have really decided for themselves who is going based on their performance. It’s difficult with 40 players and we had some tough decisions to make, but we did what we felt was best for the team.” All 20 players on the roster are currently part of U.S. Soccer’s Under-17 Residency Program, training daily under Cabrera and his assistant coaches at the IMG Academies in Bradenton, Fla. The U.S. is the only country to qualify for every FIFA U-17 World Cup since the tournament’s inception in 1985. The U.S. will open its regional campaign against Cuba on April 21 at 4 p.m. local time (7 p.m. ET) at Estadio Caliente. The U.S. will play Canada on April 23 and round out Group A play against Honduras on April 25, with both games also slated for 4 p.m. local time. Every U.S. match during the tournament can be followed live via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker. The top two finishers in Group A advance to the semifinals of the tournament and earn half of CONCACAF’s four berths to Nigeria. They will also cross over to play one of the top two teams from Group B, which is made up of Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Trinidad & Tobago. The semifinals will be played on April 29, with the final and third place match played on May 2. Earl Edwards, who has started seven of the team’s nine international games this year, will likely man the U.S. net, with Spencer Richey serving as a more than capable back up. Edwards has a 4-3 record on the year against some of the top teams in the world, including Spain and Argentina, and has appeared in 19 international matches in his U-17 career. Richey has only allowed one goal in his two starts in 2009. The goalkeepers will help to solidify a defense that includes captain Perry Kitchen, who, along with Jared Watts, has gained valuable experience this year with eight international caps. Zach Herold and Tyler Polak have each made six starts, rotating in with Alex Shinksy, who is among the team leaders with 15 career caps at the U-17 level. Emilio Orozco and Eriq Zavaleta, who has recently been manning the center of the back line with Watts, round out the defensive corps. In the midfield, Marlon Duran has been the stalwart, with the Texas native scoring twice on direct free kicks this year in seven starts. Carlos Martinez, who made his mark in his first two international games by scoring a goal against Russia and Brazil at the 2007 Nike Friendlies, leads the midfield contingent with 21 international appearances. Sebastian Lletget is the newest member of the Residency Program, having joined the team in Bradenton less than six weeks ago. He will likely step into a midfield position vacated by Charles Renken, who will miss the tournament with a knee injury. Rounding out the midfielders are Georgia native Andrew Craven, Washington Premier FC’s Nick Palodichuk and Luis Gil, who along with Shinsky is one of only two players born in 1993 on the roster. The U.S. attack will be fueled by Jack McInerney, who has scored four goals in four games this year and 11 goals in 20 career U-17 internationals. His goal scoring prowess will be supplemented by Stefan Jerome, who leads the team with three assists in 2009. Joseph Gyau, who enters qualifying as the most experienced forward with 24 caps, and Juan Agudelo, who has earned three starts already this year round out the selection of forwards along with Dustin Corea, whose recent form earned his place on the roster. Of the 20 player roster, eight are members of U.S. Soccer Development Academy Clubs. The State of California contributes the most players with four while Georgia, Florida, Indiana and Washington State send two each. The 2009 CONCACAF U-17 Championship will mark the first time since 1996 that a regional champion is crowned. The U.S. has won the championship twice at this level, in 1983 and 1992. When the qualifying tournament was held as two groups in separate venues, the U.S. won its group three times (2001, 2003, 2005). The U.S. is the only country to have qualified for all 12 FIFA Under-17 World Championships. In 2007, the American squad advanced to the knock out phase for the third straight time before falling to Germany in the Round of 16. Roster By Position Top of PageDiverse U17 Group Called To CampThree players from Florida, two from Georgia and one each from North Carolina, Maryland, Mississippi and Louisiana are among the list of 25 called into a week-long training camp at IMG Academies in Bradenton, FL. After this camp U.S. Under-17 MNT coach Wilmer Cabrera will make his final selection to fill a limited number of places for the fall semester at the U.S. Residency Program in Bradenton. All of the players in the national callup were born in 1992, which makes them eligible for the 2009 FIFA U17 World Cup in Nigeria. Nine of the 25 come from U.S. Soccer Development Academy clubs. U.S. U-17 Residency Trying Camp Top of PageU.S. U-17 Games Televised On FSCFox Soccer Channel will televise all three U.S. Under-17 ’92 Men’s National Team games during the 2007 Development Academy Nike Friendlies, which are taking place from Dec. 6-9 at IMG Academies in Bradenton, Fla. All three matches are against international teams, with the U.S. U-17s taking on Brazil, Russia and Turkey during the weekend. The U.S. kicks off the weekend live on FSC when they go up against Russia on Thursday, Dec. 6 at 3 p.m. ET. Two days later, the U.S. will continue its familiar December match-up with Brazil for the third straight year, and fourth overall, at the Friendlies when the countries square off on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 2:30 p.m. ET. The U.S. will then face Turkey on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET, which will be televised on a same-day delay at 8 p.m. ET. A total of 54 teams competing across the Under-15/16 and Under-17/18 age groups will participate in the 2007 Nike Friendlies. The U.S. Under-17 and Under-15 Mens’ National Teams will each be divided into two squads that will represent U.S. Soccer. The U-17 teams will be divided in to the U-17 ’91 MNT and the U-17 ’92 MNT, while the U-15 team will be made primarily of players born in 1993, and will play as the U-15 Blue and U-15 White teams. The U-17 ‘91s and the U-15 Boys’ National Team will compete against elite club teams. Along with the 81 games that will be played across the weekend, the 2007 edition of the annual event will focus on the development of players, coaches and referees at the international level. U.S. Soccer Symposiums will be conducted for domestic and international coaches and referees and will feature CONCACAF Coaching and Referee Symposiums. U.S. Soccer National Team Coaches and Referees will meet with Academy Coaches and Referees to review their individual development. Gatorade will be providing educational hydration testing for select Academy athletes to learn how proper in-game nutrition can help improve their performance. U.S. Soccer’s Nike Friendlies is an annual competition in which the best youth soccer clubs around the United States are invited to play high-level games that stress quality soccer and player development over wins and losses. Tournament standings are not kept during the competition, in which each U-15/16 team plays three 80-minute games, while U-17/18 teams play three 90-minute games over the four days. A full list of teams and complete schedule is available now at ussoccer.com. During the tournament, ussoccer.com will provide comprehensive coverage of the event including mini-match reports from every game played, photos and video. U.S. Soccer’s all_access video team, as well as Studio 90, the web show made popular during the 2006 World Cup, will be on site providing features and highlights. 2007 Development Academy Nike Friendlies Player Development and Identification National Team, Professional and College Scouts in Attendance Coaching and Referee Development CONCACAF Referee Academy U.S. Soccer Assessor Academy Top of PageCabrera Named U.S. U17 MNT CoachU.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati has named Wilmer Cabrera, a two-time World Cup veteran from Colombia, as head coach of the U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team. Cabrera, 40, will oversee U.S. Soccer’s U-17 Residency Program from Bradenton, Fla., where 40 of the country’s elite players reside year-round and train in a professional environment to help them develop and become talented players that climb the ladder in the men's national program. Gulati also announced that U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team head coach Thomas Rongen’s contract has been extended through the 2009 FIFA Under-20 World Cup cycle. "Wilmer is going to be a great addition to all of our player development initiatives,” said Gulati. “He has played at the highest level of the sport and will bring a unique perspective to our programs. He has been very involved in our youth national teams across the past year, and has done the work at the grassroots since relocating to the United States that make him an ideal candidate.” Cabrera, who earned his USSF A Coaching License in 2005, has been a member of the U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team staff since January of 2007, serving as an assistant coach under Bob Jenkins. He has been a part of a number of camps, including trips to Mexico, Portugal and Japan earlier this year. "I know the system, and I know our youth programs very well,” said Cabrera. “And this is a beautiful challenge for me and a great responsibility. I am very much looking forward to contributing to the developmental environment that is growing in the United States for youth players.” The former Colombian international is a veteran of two FIFA World Cups, being named to the roster in 1990 and playing in three matches in France in 1998. The defender earned a total of 48 caps during nine years with the national team, missing out on the 1994 World Cup in the USA because of an injury. He also represented Colombia at two FIFA U-20 World Cups (1985 in the Soviet Union and 1987 in Chile), starting all three games for the team in the 1987 tournament after being selected to the 1985 roster at age 17. Cabrera has coached at the U-17/18 level at the prestigious B/W Gottschee in Ridgewood, N.Y., one of 62 clubs chosen as an inaugural member of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, since 2005. Cabrera began his professional career at Santa Fe de Bogatá in Colombia in 1985 at age 17. He went on to play professionally for 18 years in Colombia, Argentina and Costa Rica, highlighted by eight years with Colombia’s América de Cali. He was also a founding member of Chico Futbol Club in the mid-1990s, serving as the team’s first coach and helping guide them to promotion to the first division after just two years. In 2003, Cabrera moved to the United States and played for two years with the United Soccer League’s Long Island Rough Riders. He also worked in an administrative role at Major League Soccer, contributing to the growth of the sport through his position as Manager of Fan Development. In that role, he served as the spokesperson for MLS Futbolito and Verano MLS, two programs aimed at grassroots development of soccer in the United States. In his international career, Cabrera played against the United States in four official games, appearing as a sub on April 22, 1990, and July 31, 1992, both 1-0 victories for Colombia. He also started and played the full 90 minutes against the U.S. in a 0-0 draw on June 25, 1995, a memorable game that concluded the 1995 Nike U.S. Cup. He also went the distance in a 4-1 win for Colombia at the 1995 Copa America that denied the U.S. a third-place finish. Rongen led the Under-20 team in their exciting quarterfinal run in 2007 World Cup in Canada. He was also at the helm in the 2003 tournament where the U.S. finished in fifth place. “I am excited to be continuing with the Under-20 team,” said Rongen. “I want to thank the Federation for the opportunity to build on the success we have had in the past few years, and I look forward to moving on with the promising young players who will be working toward the 2009 U-20 World Cup.” Rongen will begin the two-year cycle by leading an Under-18 team in the Limoges Tournament in France in late October. The 2009 FIFA Under-20 World Cup will be held in Egypt. "Having Thomas back on board and having Wilmer join our Youth National Team staff is great for our program," said U.S. Men's National Team head coach Bob Bradley. "It is very clear in the appointments that have been made this week that the focus within our Youth National Teams is about player development. It is important for us moving forward to continue to connect all of our programs, from the Development Academy through to the U.S. National Team." The U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team is the only team in the world to have qualified for every World Cup at that age level, earning one fourth-place and two fifth-place finishes in five World Cup cycles since the launch of the U-17 Residency Program in 1999. Since the establishment of U-17 Residency almost nine years ago, the program has seen remarkable success in connecting players through U.S. Soccer’s National Team program and on to the full team. Of the 60 players capped by Bradley in 2007, 12 have been a part of the Under-17 Residency Program, a strong reflection of the programs development. Five players from the U-17 Residency Program (Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Oguchi Onyewu, Bobby Convey and Eddie Johnson) participated in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Top of PageU.S. U-17 Men Fall 2-1 To GermanyThe U.S. Under-17 Men's National team were knocked out of the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup Thursday evening in Cheonan, South Korea, when they fell, 2-1, to Germany in the Round of 16. Forward Richard Sukuta-Pasu scored both goals in the
second half to lead Germany to victory and a spot in the quarterfinals.
U.S. defender Mykell Bates scored his third goal of the
tournament in second-half stoppage time to cut the lead to one, but Germany
was able to hold on in the final minute for the win. “Full credit goes to Germany,” said U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team head coach John Hackworth. “They are an outstanding team and we wish them all the best going forward. We knew this game was going to be a bit of a chess match, and there would be times when they were coming at us. We didn’t play as well as we thought we could.” Without the services of forward Billy Schuler due to yellow card accumulation, Hackworth was forced to start his fourth different starting line-up in as many games. In place of Schuler, Kirk Urso, who scored the game-winning goal against Belgium that enabled the U.S. to advance, started up top with Ellis McLoughlin. Josh Lambo started in goal for the U.S. for the second straight match and came up with a number of dazzling stops to keep Germany off the board for a majority of the match. Lambo finished the game with eight saves and was named Man of the Match for the second consecutive game. Early in the game the teams exchanged possession, but Germany was the
only side able to penetrate through in their offensive third. Sukuta-Pasu
was dangerous for Germany all night, creating chances on long balls and
on the counter attack, often with his striking partner Toni Kroos. Germany’s high pressure defense gave the U.S. attack trouble as the Americans held a majority of the possession in the first half and it wasn’t until the 14th minute when the U.S. created a dangerous opportunity. Daniel Wenzel chipped a ball into the box for Alex Nimo, but the German defense was in the box to clear the ball away. In the 17th minute, a long Sheanon Williams throw-in
was played into the box, and cleared to the feet of midfielder
Jared Jeffrey, but his ball back into the box was cleared out
as well. In the 23rd minute a low Nimo free kick was also cleared by the
Germany defense. On the ensuing German counterattack, Sukuta-Pasu held
up the ball and slotted across goal. Lambo seemed to be beaten, but Brandon
Zimmerman did well to track back in front of the goal mouth,
and was able to play the ball out of danger. In the 41st minute, Kirk Urso fired a free kick on target from 30 yards
away, but German goalkeeper Rene Vollath was there to
make the save. In the USA’s final effort before half, Meyer lofted
a free kick into the box that found the head of Gregory Garza,
but his attempt went high and the teams went into the break deadlocked
in a scoreless draw. In the 54th minute, the U.S. built up an attack and Jeffrey played a
through ball for an overlapping Williams, but the U.S. defender couldn’t
quite catch up to the ball inside the box. Two minutes later, second-half
substitute Abdusalam Ibrahim was tripped up outside the German penalty
area, but Nimo’s shot on the ensuing free kick went wide. Germany’s first goal came minutes later, when Sukuta-Pasu received
a long ball from Kroos in stride, touched it around Meyer in the box and
beat Lambo high to put the Germans up 1-0. In the 78th minute, a Wenzel found the end of a Jeffrey free kick from the right side of the box, but his shot rolled harmlessly to Vollath. Wenzel had another opportunity three minutes later after a long free kick by Brandon Zimmerman, but this time his shot went wide. Germany increased the lead 2-0 when Kroos led a counterattack upfield,
slotting a ball perfectly for Sukuta-Pasu, who was able to beat Lambo
for the second time on the night. Participants: U.S. Under-17 MNT vs. Germany Scoring Summary: 1 2 F GER – Richard Sukuta-Pasu (Toni Kroos) 65th minute Lineups: Statistical Summary: USA / GER Misconduct Summary: Top of PageU.S. U17s Advance With Win Over BelgiumThe United States played its best match so far at the Under-17 World Cup in defeating Belgium 2-0 yesterday to close Group E. In the process, the Americans sneaked into the Round of 16 despite a 1-2 record. At Cheonan Sports Complex in South Korea, Reserve forward Kirk Urso's goal put the U.S. ahead of Belgium in the 63rd minute, but it was U.S. captain Mykell Bates' strike eight minutes later and a pair of sterling stops by goalkeeper Josh Lambo in the final 10 minutes that provided the winning margin needed to advance in this world tournament. When Tunisia (3-0), which had already advanced, scored late to defeat Tajikistan 1-0, it left the Tajiks, Americans and Belgium at 1-2 with three points. The U.S. and Tajikistan each had a minus-1 goal differential, the first tiebreaker, to minus-3 for Belgium. The U.S. was organized, stayed compact and was methodical over the entire 90 minutes. Its back-line was particularly effective giving Belgium few quality chances. When the Belgians managed two great chances at the end, Lambo came up big. U.S. coach John Hackworth made three changes in his starting lineup, two of which worked well. Midfielder Gregory Garza again started, as he did in the opening 4-2 setback to Tajikistan, while Lambo received his first start and played well. Defender Brandon Zimmerman, also was inserted in the starting 11 for the first time, but was less effective. As has been the story so far in this tournament, Brazilian referee Salvio Fagundes Filho was quite stern in his calls and very liberal in dishing out cards. In the 36th minute, Christian Benteke, one of Belgium's best players, slid cleats high into American Sheanon Williams. While the tackle was not malicious, it was reckless, earning a red card and leaving his side shorthanded and without one of its best attackers for the remaining time. The U.S. was able to take advantage of the manpower edge and pressured throughout the second half. It ended up recording 21 shots, including 12 on goal, its most during group play. However, the U.S. finishing was once again lacking with strikers Ellis McLoughlin and Billy Schuler unable to take advantage of quality chances. It took Urso, coming off the bench, to drill a hard shot at a sharp angle off the hands of Belgium keeper Jo Coppens and into the net for a 1-0 lead in the 63rd minute. Eight minutes later, Bates, a central defender, found net with header off a nice cross by midfielder Gregory Garza off a short corner and the Americans had the goals they needed to remain in contention for the world championship. Lambo did the rest, deftly tipping Dmitri Daeseleire's angled tester from the left side over the crossbar in the 78th minute, then quickly dropped to his right to deny Eden Hazard's shot from just above the box three minutes into stoppage time. Had either shot gone in, the U.S. visit to South Korea would have been over. The U.S. reward was a Round-of-16 meeting in Cheonan with Germany (2-0-1),
the Group F winner which scored 11 goals, while conceding five. Top of PageU.S. U-17s Lose To Tunisia, 3-1HANGWON, South Korea (August 23, 2007) - The U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team is on the verge of elimination from the FIFA Under-17 Men’s World Cup after taking their second loss in group play. The young Americans dropped a 3-1 decision to Tunisia, giving up a pair of penalty kicks, the first in the eighth minute of play and the second in extra time just before halftime. The loss followed an opening game upset by Tajikistan. The U.S. team, one of the tournament’s six seeded teams, is 0-2 going into the final group game on Sunday, Aug. 26 against Belgium. That game will be played at 3:00 am ET and televised on ESPNU. The U.S. cut the Tunisia lead with a 90th minute penalty kick of their own by Jared Jeffrey, but the game, for all practical purposes, was over. Tunisia stretched it to 3-1 with a goal four minutes into extra time before the final whistle. The U.S. went into the game with high hopes of advancing out of group play and moving into the knockout phase. However, the loss to Tajikistan, considered to be the weakest of the USA’s three group opponents, put Coach John Hackworth’s club back on its heels. Tunisia, which beat Belgium 4-2 to open the tournament, leads the group with two wins and six points. After the opening-game loss, it was thought that the U.S. would have
to earn at least a win and a draw in its last two games to advance. Sixteen
teams from the field of 24 will advance to the knockout round of 16. Top of PageTajikistan Stuns U.S. U17sCHANGWON, South Korea (August 20, 2007) - The U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team took early leads in the first and second halves during their opening match in Group E of the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup, but Tajikistan rallied twice to eventually hand the U.S. a 4-3 loss in Changwon, South Korea. After taking an early 1-0 lead on a ninth minute header goal from Mykell Bates, the U.S. was in control for the majority of the first half, but goals in the 32nd and 43rd minutes gave Tajikistan the lead before halftime. The U.S. bounced back with two goals in the opening eight minutes of the second half from Gregory Garza and Billy Schuler to once again take control, but Tajikistan mirrored the U.S. with two goals in the final eight minutes, including a jaw-dropping game-winner in the 86th minute, to earn all three points. The U.S. will next face Group E leaders Tunisia on Thursday, Aug. 23 at 3:45 a.m. ET, live on ESPN2 and ESPNU (the match will also be replayed at 12 p.m. ET on ESPNU). With Monday's result, the U.S. sits in third place in Group E with a -1 goal differential separating them from Belgium (-2). Tunisia defeated Belgium, 4-2, in the earlier match and sits atop Group E with three points and a better goal differential (+2) than Tajikistan +1). “It was disappointing for us, because we know we let a lead slip away,” said U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team head coach John Hackworth. “We didn’t manage the match very well at the end, and I think we played a little bit too defensively and too conservatively. It’s not over. There are still six points out there, we still have two more games left to try and advance out of this group.” The U.S. started the match without their leading scorer, forward Ellis McLoughlin, who was suffering from the effects of strep throat. He was replaced in the starting line-up by Abdusalam Ibrahim. Hackworth brought on McLoughlin in the 86th minute in the hopes his leading scorer would find the game-winner, but moments later it would be Tajikistan that would complete the shocking comeback. Fatkuloev received a long ball alongside the right sideline from about 30 yards out and cut inside past his defender before unleashing a 20-yard laser that found the far side netting. Notes: The last time the U.S. gave up four or more goals in a FIFA U-17 World Cup was in 2001, when the U.S. lost in group play to eventual champions France, 5-3. - U.S. Under-16 Men’s National Team Game Report - Participants: U.S. Under-17 MNT vs. Tajikistan Scoring Summary: 1 2 F USA – Mykell Bates (Greg Garza) 9th minute Lineups: TJK: 1-Farrukj Berdiev; 3-Eradzh Radzhabov, 5-Farkhod Vasiev, 6-Kurbonali
Sobirov (11-Nuriddin Davronov, 81), 7-Buzurgmekhr Yusupov (8-Manuchehr
Dzalilov, 67); 9-Samad Shohzukhurov (capt.), 10-Davrondzhon Tukhtasunov,
14-Farkhod Tokhirov (12-Abukayum Karabev, 73), 15-Furug Qodirov; 18-Fatkhullo
Fatkhuloev, 20-Isomiddin Qurbonov Statistical Summary: USA / TJK Misconduct Summary: Officials: Top of PageU.S. U17 World Cup Team PickedThursday, August 2, 2007) - United States under-17 coach John Hackworth has named the 21-player roster for the men's Under-17 World Cup to be competed August 18 through September 9 at eight venues in South Korea. Hackworth mostly chose his team from the 40 players at the U.S. Soccer Federation's Under-17 Residency Program in Bradenton, Fla. Only defender Tommy Meyer and striker Daniel Cruz were chosen to the squad while not being a part of full-time residency. All of the players on the roster were born on or after January 1, 1990, with five players from the younger 1991 age group -- forwards Bryan Dominguez and Abdusalam Ibrahim, midfielder Gregory Garza, goalkeeper Zac MacMath and defender Kofi Sarkodie. "We felt all along that the talented pool of players in this age group is very deep, making our decisions extremely difficult," Hackworth saod. "However, we feel that we selected players that have proven that they are dedicated to our team's success at the World Cup." The U.S. is the only nation to qualify for all 11 previous under-17 world championships. The best American finish came with fourth place in New Zealand in 1999 with a team that featured Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Oguchi Onyewu, Bobby Convey and Kyle Beckerman. The Americans were drawn into Group E, along with Tajikistan, Tunisia and Belgium, in the six-group, 24-team field. One team is seeded in each group and the U.S. is the rated side in Group E. The Americans open with two matches in Changwon, facing Tajikistan August 20 at 7 a.m (ET) and Tunisia August 23 at 4 a.m. Belgium is the final group opponent in a 3.a.m. game in Cheonan. All 52 matches of the tournament will be broadcast by ESPNU with all U.S. matches shown live, with a later rebroadcast at a more convenient time for the fans at home. The U.S. match against Tunisia will also be aired on ESPN2. The American roster includes 16 players who were a part of the team that won Group A at the CONCACAF Under-17 Final Round Qualifying Tournament in Kingston, Jamaica, earlier this year. The U.S. scored nine goals in four games during qualifying, including an opening 3-0 shutout of Trinidad & Tobago. The team then topped Canada, 2-1, before falling to Jamaica 3-2. A 2-1 triumph over Costa Rica in the finale sealed first place. Striker Ellis McLoughlin leads the team in scoring during the past two years, including the game-winning goal against Costa Rica in qualifying. Joining him up front are Ibrahim, who was drafted by FC Dallas in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft, Dominguez and Billy Schuler, who tallied a goal and two assists in qualifying. Cruz, a relative newcomer Cruz has impressed in his limited time with the U-17s. MacMath and Josh Lambo are considered two of the top keepers in the world and split time in goal in the qualifying tournament Sheanon Williams and Mykell Bates were solid while starting all four qualifying games. Meyer and Brandon Zimmerman while Chris Klute and Sarkodie did not participate in qualifying, earning their spots in training and with their performances in a recent 3-1 friendly victory over Germany. Jared Jeffrey, Dane Shea and Garza lead a squad of seven midfielders. Jeffrey and Shea started all four games in qualifying, while Garza started three and scored a goal. In the center of the field, Jeffrey and Daniel Wenzel have been Hackworth's starters, with both among those with the most appearances for Hackworth over the past two years. Right midfielder Alex Nimo, who joined residency in the spring, quickly gained attention by scoring three goals in the four qualifying games. Kirk Urso and Brendan King are a pair of well-rounded, experienced performers from Ilinois. The team is currently training in Clemson, S.C. A friendly against Costa Rica is planned for Tuesday in Atlanta on the campus of Kennesaw State University. The following day, the team will head home to Bradenton for three days before returning to Atlanta August 11 for two days of training and then departure to for South Korea. The field for this tournament has been expanded to 24 from 16. A sampling
of international stars who started in this event are Luis Figo,
Alessandro Del Piero, Juan Veron, Francesco Totti and Ronaldinho. August 20 -- Tajikistan in Changwon, 6:45 a.m., ESPNU Goalkeepers (3): Larry Jackson (East Palo Alto, Calif.), Josh Lambo (Middleton, Wisc.), Zac MacMath (St. Petersburg, Fla.). Defenders (6): Mykell Bates (Roseville, Calif.), Chris Klute (Grand Prairie, Texas), Tommy Meyer (St. Louis), Kofi Sarkodie (Huber Heights, Ohio), Sheanon Williams (Boston), Brandon Zimmerman (Pasco, Wash.). Midfielders (7): Gregory Garza (Grapevine, Texas), Jared Jeffrey (Dallas), Brendan King (Naperville, Ill.), Alex Nimo (Portland, Ore.), Dane Shea (College Station, Texas), Kirk Urso (Lombard, Ill.), Daniel Wenzel (Federal Way, Wash.). Forwards (5): Daniel Cruz (Glendale, Ariz.), Bryan Dominguez (Atlanta), Abdusalam Ibrahim (Richfield, Minne.), Ellis McLoughlin (Seattle), Billy Schuler (Allentown, N.J.). Top of PageU.S. U17 MNT QualifiesKINGSTON, Jamaica (Sunday, May 6, 2007) -- A berth in this summer's Under-17 World Cup already earned, the United States used first-half goals by midfielder Gregory Garza and striker Ellis McLoughlin to defeat Costa Rica 2-1 and capture the CONCACAF Final Round Qualifying Tournament Group B title at the National Stadium. By qualifying for a 12th consecutive time, the U.S. is the only nation to advance to every world championship tournament at this age group. Since CONCACAF, the region of North America, Central America and the Caribbean, moved to two qualifying groups, the Americans placed first in their group four out of five times -- the last four in a row -- while also winning in 1983 and 1992 when there was only one. Costa Rica and Trinidad & Tobago also advanced to the Under-17 World Cup with CONCACAF sending three teams from Group B. Haiti and Honduras also qualified in Group A, giving CONCACAF five representatives in the world tourney. The U.S. knew before Friday's 3-2 setback to Jamaica that it had qualified. The Americans finished at 3-1 with nine points, followed by Costa Rica (2-1-1, 7 points) and T&T (2-2, 6) with Canada (1-2-1, 4) and Jamaica (1-3, 3) failing to move ahead. T&T edged Jamaica 1-0 in tonight's second match. "This was a another tough match for us during qualifying, but our guys really stepped up today and showed they were the best team in this group," said coach John Hackworth, who led the U.S. to fifth place in the 2005 world championships in Peru. "We wanted to come out and score early, and that's exactly what we did. We played exceptionally well and I thought our defense did a remarkable job of holding off a great Costa Rica attack in the second half, especially with this being our fourth match is seven days. We're extremely happy to come away from Jamaica with the top spot." Costa Rica came just inches from tying the game and winning the group in the 87th minute after forward David Guzman delivered a corner kick to Ticos defender Jordan Smith, who drilled his 12-yard header off the crossbar. The U.S. led 2-0 at halftime Friday, only to fall when Jamaica scored three times between the 78th and 90th minutes. Tonight, the Americans also had a two-goal advantage at intermission, but managed to hold off the Ticos' comeback. Neither team crated many quality chances on goal with Costa Rica holding an 8-5 shots advantage, while each side put three shots on frame. The U.S. went ahead 1-0 after a quick restart in the 13th minute. Costa Rica defender and captain Roy Smith pushed forward into the center circle before trying to connect with midfielder Oviedo Bryan on the left flank, but the pass was off the mark and rolled out of touch. While Smith took his time returning to the back-line, U.S. defender Sheanon Williams quickly threw the ball up to open striker Billy Schuler at the top of the penalty area. Schuler held off the retreating Smith and carried into the box before sending the ball along six-yard-line to an advancing Garza who buried his shot with his first touch. "Schuler gave me a great ball from inside the 18-yard box and I just tapped it in," Garza said. "I was in the right spot at the right time. We were really determined to win this game and I think it helped a lot to get that first goal." Six minutes later, another Williams throw-in led to a 2-0 lead. Deep down the left sideline, Williams had his toss into the box cleared back to him. After one touch, Williams spotted McLoughlin, who had shed his marker and was about 12 yards from goal. Williams curled a pass to McLoughlin, who settled the ball and then used the outside of his right foot to place his shot into the left corner of the net. "That's what my job is, to score goals," McLoughlin said. "That's what I came down here to do." McLoughlin, who was suspended for the last two U.S. outings after receiving a red card in the tournament opener, had his team-leading 14th international tally. "It was hard, but for me I just focused on Costa Rica because I knew that was my next game," McLoughlin said of his forced sabbatical. "Our team did well when I was out, but it was hard." Costa Rica had difficulty mounting an attack in the opening 45 minute, but gained momentum in the second half as the Americans seemed to tire, the result of four matches in seven days. Costa Rica had a bye Friday and had not played since Wednesday. "No question, this is unbelievably difficult, both from a physical standpoint and a mental standpoint," Hackworth said of the compressed schedule. In the 55th minute, the Ticos narrowed their deficit to 2-1. U.S. midfielder Daniel Wenzel had won a ball in the middle of the field and tried to break Schuler free with a lead pass. Instead, Costa Rica goalkeeper Leonel Moreira came off his line to slide in and snatch the ball. His subsequent punt soared over the heads of American backs Mykell Bates and Thomas Meyer, allowing Ticos reserve midfielder Marcos Urena to run onto the bouncing ball and chip it over the head of goalkeeper Zac MacMath, who was moving forward. "The goalkeeper took the punt and we let it drop," MacMath said. "It kept taking bounces and I didn't know if I should come out or stay, and I kind of got caught in the middle. He did a good job to finish as I came out and tried to be big. He just looped it as high as he could to score." Urena, who entered in the 30th minute, gave the Americans fits. In the 60th minute, he collected a ball on the left flank, cut inside and unleashed a blast that sailed over the crossbar by inches. A short time later, Urena headed a Bruno Castro corner kick toward the left post, but U.S. midfielder Alex Nimo cleared it away. McLoughlin had a couple chances to put the game away, but missed from close range. In the 75th minute, he was the recipient of a long ball in the box, but Moreira parried his shot away. Ten minutes later, a cross unexpectedly went over the heads of Schuler and two defenders, but McLoughlin's touch failed him and he shot right at Moreira from six yards away. Notes: The Under-17 World Cup draw will be held May 17 in South Korea.
Nineteen of the 24 entrants have been determined. Along with the five
CONCACAF participants, the other qualifiers are host South Korea, Argentina,
Brazil, Colombia, Ghana, Japan, Nigeria, New Zealand, North Korea, Peru,
Syria, Tajikistan, Togo and Tunisia. Lineups: United States - Zach MacMath, Sheanon Williams (Howard Turk 75), Mykell Bates (captain), Thomas Meyer, Brandon Zimmerman, Alex Nimo, Jared Jeffrey, Daniel Wenzel, Gregory Garza (Nicholas Millington 71), Ellis McLoughlin, Billy Schuler (Brek Shea 89). Costa Rica - Leonel Moreira, Jordan Smith, Roy Smith, Erick Rojas, Rodrigo Herra (Marcos Urena,30), Daniel Varela (Bruno Castro 50), Esteban Luna, Miguel Brenes (Julio Ibarra 76), Oviedo Bryan, Jorge Castro, David Guzman. Scoring: Shots: United States 5, Costa Rica 8. Shots on goal: United States 3, Costa Rica 3. Saves: United States 2, Costa Rica 1. Fouls: United States 15, Costa Rica 18. Corner kicks: United States 5, Costa Rica 9. Offside: United States 3, Costa Rica 2. Yellow card cautions: Costa Rica - Urena 39, Castro 39. Referee: Elmer Bonilla (El Salvador). Assistant referees: Hiran Perez (Cuba), Dion Inniss (Guyana). Fourth official: Luis Rodriguez (Panama). Attendance: not reported at National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. Weather: Warm, 80 degrees CONCACAF Under-17 qualifying Note: United States, Costa Rica and Trinidad & Tobago qualify for Under-17 World Cup. Top of PageAmericans Near U17 WC QualificationStriker Billy Schuler and defender Mykell Bates staked the United States to an early two-goal lead and the Americans managed to hold on for a 2-1 decision over Canada in a CONCACAF Men's Under-17 Final Round Qualifying Tournament Group B match at National Stadium in Kingston Jamaica. With the top three finishers in this five-nation round robin advancing to the this Under-17 World Cup August 18-September 9 in South Korea, the U.S. can clinch a spot with a draw or better here Friday against Jamaica or Sunday against Costa Rica. In Canada and Trinidad & Tobago draw in Friday's first game, the U.S. would book its berth in the world championship tournament. Costa Rica is in first place at 2-0-1 with seven points, but the U.S. has a game in hand and trails by only a point at 2-0. Canada is in third at 1-1-1 with four points, while Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica are both without a point at 0-2. "We came out and executed our game plan very well in the early going, but you've got to finish a couple of those other opportunities we had," U.S. coach John Hackworth said. "If we would have gotten the third goal, I think we would have made it easy on ourselves. "Canada played well and give them credit for never giving up. Overall, I'm extremely pleased with six points from our first two games. We're in a great spot, so now we have to battle through our tired legs and get ready for Jamaica." The U.S. was without Ellis McLoughlin, the team's leading scorer who was suspended for two games for throwing an elbow late in Monday's opening 3-0 shutout of T&T. The foul was ruled malicious by CONCACAF, the governing body for North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Coach John Hackworth shifted Abdusalam Ibrahim from right midfield to McLoughlin's spot on the front line, with Alex Dixon moving into the vacancy. Tommy Meyer also received his first start in central defense beside Bates, pushing Daniel Wenzel to central midfield with Jared Jeffrey. After surving some early pressure, the U.S. dominated took control of tempo for the remainder of the first half. Ibrahim and Schuler had room to run and were fed through balls from Jeffrey and Wenzel. The Americans capitalized on a Canadian error to take a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute. Defender Sheanon Williams stripped a ball loose on the right sideline and quickly carried forward, cutting inside before slipping the ball ahead to an advancing Schuler. The forward, who joined the fulltime under-17 residency program in Bradenton, Fla., in January, held off his defender inside the penalty area and hit a low drive past charging goalkeeper Adam Street and into the left corner of the net for his first international goal. In the 20th minute, Schuler had a great chance to expand the U.S. advantage when he was the recipient of a cross by his front-line mate Alex Nimo, but he shot well over the crossbar. A few minutes later, Street went low to save a shot by Ibrahim from the top of the box. In the 23rd minute, Ibrahim was unable to fully get his head on a high cross, but Bates delayed his run and met the ball at the left corner of the six-yard box and beat Street to make it 2-0. Soon after, Schuler took a cross from Nimo and put a header on goal, but Street was able to make the save. The Americans started the second half well, but Canada soon began to control possession. A tough challenge by U.S. defender Brek Shea earned him a knock to the head and, while he was trying to shake off the blow, Canada forward Jarek Whiteman took advantage. Receiving a quick throw-in along the right sideline, Whiteman went by Shea and advanced to the end-line just inside the box. With goalkeeper Zach MacMath protecting the near post, Whiteman dropped the ball back to the penalty spot where striker Cederic Carrie used his first touch to drill a ball into the net and narrow Canada's deficit to 2-1. Whiteman continued to give the U.S. problems. In the 70th minute, Canada crossed the ball into the penalty area and the ball bounced off several players before falling to Whiteman on the right side. He tried to drop it back to Canada midfielder Oliver Lacoste-Lebuis, but just missed him, but the U.S. failed to cleanly clear the ball out. The ball wound up back on Whiteman's foot, but he missed wide left from 16 yards. Nimo sent a shot from inside the box well high three minutes later. MacMath came up big for the U.S. with five minutes remaining when he fully extended to turn away a 17-yard shot by Canada midfielder Mohamed Sylla. "We were sitting on the bench saying, 'It can't get any better,'
but we took things for granted from there, which happens with young kids,"
Hackworth said. "But if we can sustain the level of play we had in
the first half, you couldn't ask for much more." Lineups: United States - Zach MacMath, Sheanon Williams, Mykell Bates (captain), Thomas Meyer, Brek Shea (Brandon Zimmerman 57), Alex Nimo, Jared Jeffrey, Daniel Wenzel, Alex Dixon (Gregory Garza 65), Abdusalam Ibrahim, Billy Schuler (Nicholas Millington 82). Canada - Adam Street, Williams Hyde, Daniel Tannous (captain), Adam Straith, Erick Leal (Kyle Porter 70), Colin Parenteau-Michon (Mohamed Sylla, 46), Marcus Johnstone, Philippe Davies, Oliver Lacoste-Lebuis, Jarek Whiteman, Cederic Carrie (Gagandeep Dosanjh 84). Scoring: Shots: United States 10, Canada 12. Shots on goal: United States 6, Canada 7. Saves: United States 6, Canada 3. Fouls: United States 11, Canada 7. Corner kicks: United States 6, Canada 3. Offside: United States 4, Canada 0. Yellow card caution: United States - Shea 18. CONCACAF Under-17 qualifying Note: Top three teams qualify for Under-17 World Cup. Top of PageU.S. U17s Open Qualifying 3-0 Over T&TKINGSTON, Jamaica (April 30, 2007) — Alex Nimo scored two goals while Ellis McLoughlin tallied once as the U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team opened Group B of the 2007 CONCACAF Final Round Qualifying Tournament with a 3-0 shutout over Trinidad & Tobago at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. The U.S. sits in third place in the five-team group with a game in hand. Costa Rica and Canada battled to a scoreless draw in the early match of the Match Day 2 doubleheader, keeping them first and second in the group. Canada is in first with a better goal differential (plus-3) than Costa Rica (plus-two). Nimo and McLoughlin were the story of the night from start to finish, with Nimo providing a magical opening when he finished a fantastic individual effort from close range in just the second minute for his first international goal. McLoughlin tallied just before halftime and Nimo put away his second of the night in the second half, but the pleasant night quickly turned sour when McLoughlin was sent off for a reckless challenge in the 80th minute. McLoughlin will miss the USA’s next match against Canada, which will be on Wednesday, May 2 at 6 p.m. ET. Fans can follow the match live on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker. “It was a pretty strange match overall,” said U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team head coach John Hackworth, who is at the helm for his second straight U-17 qualifying campaign. “We scored early, which is good, but then we dropped into a defensive shell which wasn’t good. We regained momentum in the game with some solid possession and got a second goal going into halftime with the game in control. We got the third goal in the second half and, as young kids are prone to do, I think we lost our composure a little bit by having a player thrown off and get three yellow cards. In the end, we did kill the game off, get our three points with a shutout. We think we can get stronger as the tournament goes on and that’s what we’re going to try and do.” Billed as an extremely talented player even before joining U.S. Soccer’s Residency Program this January, Nimo had the stadium buzzing with a stellar performance where he showcased his fantastic touch, blinding speed and ability to finish. The Liberian-born midfielder didn’t take his time either as he provided the U.S. he lead with what was almost his first touch. Sitting on the right flank, Nimo ran onto a long ball from Daniel Wenzel, but slowed down just enough to time his first touch, which was a sharp cut inside, to catch the backtracking defender Akeem Adams off balance and leave him in the dust. Inside the area, Nimo tried to slip the ball low across the goalmouth to a crashing Billy Schuler, but his pass was deflected by a defender, only to fall back into his path. Nimo didn’t hesitate as he took one touch toward goal before ripping his six-foot shot past helpless goalkeeper Glenroy Samuel and into the top netting. "I didn't know what to do since it was my first goal," said Nimo, who raced to the corner flag and danced after his strike. "I was relieved and really excited." The early goal seemed to settle Trinidad as they quickly became the more aggressive team, continually pushing forward and finding room to serve in crosses from the right flank. After putting a couple shots on goal that didn’t worry U.S. goalkeeper Zach MacMatch, forward Daniel Cyrus provided a stern test in the 18th minute when a poorly cleared ball fell to his feet at the top of the box. Cyrus unleashed a low blast that looked destined for the left corner, but MacMatch stretched out just enough to get his right hand to it and deflect it wide. After weathering the storm, the U.S. began to control the tempo, but struggled to find the final pass as Trinidad was bunkering in on defense and looking for the counter. The U.S. broke though on a quick replay that started just across the midfield stripe on the left sideline. The free kick was touched square to Greg Garza who knocked it down the right flank for Williams and he dribbled towards the endline before slipping the ball back across the box. McLoughlin almost over pursued his run, but was able to reach back to collect the pass and then with his next touch strike it past the ‘keeper into the left side of the goal for his 12th international goal. As the U.S. tried to kill off the game late in the second half, McLoughlin made a costly error in the 80th minute during a battle for a ball in the air with two Trinidad players near midfield. With a elbow raised high, McLoughlin’s challenge was deemed dangerous by the referee and he sent the USA’s leading scorer off with a straight red card. The U.S. is the only country to qualify for every FIFA U-17 World Cup, earning a berth to all 11 previous tournaments. The 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup will take place in South Korea from August 18 to September 9. - U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team Game Report - Participants: USA vs. Trinidad & Tobago Scoring Summary: USA – Alex Nimo 2nd minute Lineups: TRI: 21-Glenroy Samuel; 3-Ryan O’Neil, 4-Akeem Adams, 5-Akeem Adams,
18-Micah Lewis; 16-Marcus Joseph (9-Chad De Freitas, 61), 15-Chike Sullivan
(19-Kevin Molino, 31), 6-Leston Paul, 14-Jean-Luc Rochford; 10-Stephan
Knox, 11-Daniel Cyrus (8-Sean Desilva, 58). Statistical Summary: Misconduct Summary: Top of PageHackworth Picks 20 for CONCACAF QualifyingCoach John Hackworth selected the 20 players for the United States under-17 men who will compete at the CONCACAF Under-17 Final Round Group B Qualifying Tournament which starts Saturday and runs to May 6 in Kingston, Jamaica. Only one of the players chosen is not among the 40 in full-time residence in Bradenton, Fla. Defender Tommy Meyer, who was formerly in residence for two semesters, is the only player on the roster not currently training with Hackworth. All of the players were born on or after January 1, 1990, with five born in 1991. Since September 2005, the under-17s have a 14-7-11 (.610) record, competing in six international tournaments in Argentina, England, Japan, Northern Ireland and on home soil, three times finishing in second place. Three of the five nations from Group B will advance to the Under-17 Men's World Cup, which will take place August 18-September 19 in South Korea. Those three teams will join Haiti and Honduras, who qualified from Group A earlier this month, to make five representatives from CONCACAF, the region of North America, Central America and the Caribbean. After drawing a bye Saturday, the U.S. faces Trinidad & Tobago Monday, Canada May 2, Jamaica May 4 and Costa Rica May 6. All four matches will be held at National Stadium in Kingston. The U.S. is the only country to qualify for all 11 previous under-17 world championships. It won the qualifying tournament in 1993 and 1992 when just one winner was crowned. Since the the final round of qualifying was split into two groups in 1999, the U.S. has won its group four times -- in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2006. "Heading down to Jamaica to try and qualify for the World Cup will be a difficult task for us to accomplish, and one we are definitely looking forward to," said Hackworth. "With a bye on the first day of the tournament, we will have to play four games in seven days, but we're confident that the 20 players we've selected will give us the best chance to get through to South Korea." The U.S. will look to striker Ellis McLoughlin, the under-17s' most consistent goal scorer during the past two years, to lead the attack. The Seattle native leads the U.S. with 11 goals in 29 international appearances since he joined the program. Hackworth has several options to join McLoughlin up top, including Bryan Dominguez and Abdusalam Ibrahim, who was drafted into Major League Soccer by FC Dallas in January. Two players who joined the residency camp in January -- Alex Nimo and Billy Schuler -- also are in the mix, as is Alex Dixon, who has also played midfield. Two of the most experienced Americans in international competition, Jared Jeffrey and Daniel Wenzel will patrol the midfield. Jeffrey leads all players on the roster with 30 appearances and his composure and field awareness complement the hard-nosed tackling of Wenzel. On the wings, the U.S. has a complement of players including Greg Garza, Brendan King and Jesse Paredes, as well as Nick Millington and Dane Shea. In back, Sheanon Williams' athletic ability provides the U.S. with coverage on the right flank, but he also frequently pushes forward into the attack. Mykell Bates, Howard Turk and Meyer are options for the central positions and also often take free kicks. Brandon Zimmerman will be on the left outside and also has the ability to get forward. Josh Lambo and Zac MacMath take their battle to start
in goal to the qualifying tournament. Goalkeepers (2): Josh Lambo (Middleton, Wisc.), Zac MacMath (St. Petersburg, Fla.). Defenders (5): Mykell Bates (Roseville, Calif.), Tommy Meyer (St. Louis, Howard Turk (Fairfax, Va.), Sheanon Williams (Boston), Brandon Zimmerman (Pasco, Wash.). Midfielders (9): Alex Dixon (Humble, Texas), Bryan Dominguez (Atlanta), Greg Garza (Grapevine, Texas), Jared Jeffrey (Dallas), Brendan King (Naperville, Ill.), Nick Millington (Raleigh, N.C.), Jesse Paredes (Los Angeles), Dane Shea (College Station, Texas), Daniel Wenzel (Federal Way, Wash.). Forwards (4): Abdusalam Ibrahim (Richfield, Minn.), Ellis McLoughlin
(Seattle), Alex Nimo (Portland, Ore.), Billy Schuler (Allentown, N Top of PageNew Group Enters U17 Residency ProgramU.S. Soccer’s Under-17 Residency Program’s fall semester kicked off this week as the 40 players began training at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. With only a year until the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup, the 40-player roster consists almost entirely of eligible players (born on or after Jan. 1, 1990), as 26 of the players were born in 1990 and 13 in 1991. Eleven of the 12 older players (born in 1988 and 1989) moved on to college or the professional ranks earlier this summer, with only Kyle Davies remaining in Residency to finish up his high school studies this semester. In all, 21 players return to the Residency Program for at least their second semester, while 19 players will begin their first semester under the instruction of U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team head coach John Hackworth. Of the new players, nine were born in 1990 and 10 were born in 1991. In an effort to ensure they identified the top 40 players in the extensive player pool, Hackworth and the U-17 staff invited a total of 76 players into selected camps from August 2005 to July 2006. While the U-17 coaching staff travels around the country to scout players, inviting them into a U-17 national camp allowed the coaching staff to get an in-depth and personal view of each player. “In the past, finding the best players has always been a little tough because you’re basing your decisions on watching players with their club teams,” said Hackworth. “It is much different when you have them with you in the national team camp, have them in training and when you put them in game situations and they put on a national team jersey. Getting a chance to see these kids perform as part of the U-17s has been invaluable in terms of picking out the best players for the Residency Program.” All of the players will be competing to be a part of the next FIFA U-17 World Cup, which will take place from Aug. 18 to Sept. 9, 2007, in South Korea. The U.S. is the only country that has qualified and competed in all 11 FIFA World Championships at this age group. The U.S. will attempt to continue the streak as the CONCACAF Under-17 Qualifying Tournament will take place in April of 2007. The 40 U.S. players live on campus at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., and train daily under the guidance of Hackworth and assistant coaches Keith Fulk, Raul Diaz Arce, Tim Mulqueen and Brian Maisonneuve. Starting this semester, there is one notable schedule change in the Residency Program as the players will now train at IMG Academy in the morning and attend classes at Edison Academy in the afternoon. Started in 1999, the U.S. Soccer Residency Program has become a symbol of U.S. Soccer’s dedication to producing development opportunities for players and the success of the Youth National Teams. With the successes of the U.S. Under-17 MNT during the first few years, the number of players invited into the full-time Residency Program was doubled from 20 to 40, adding 10 additional players in both fall semesters of 2002 and 2003. U.S. Soccer has been able to increase the number of players enrolled in the program to provide greater opportunities for young players and increase its investment in player development. With 40 players in Residency, the program is able to field two full teams that train together during the week, and get the chance to compete against club, college and international teams on the weekends. "The residency program has given our players an excellent opportunity to grow and move up the ladder in the world of soccer and become professionals in Major League Soccer, some of the biggest clubs in Europe and even make an impact on the full U.S. Men's National Team,” said Hackworth. “We will look to continue this progress here in Bradenton by providing the players with an environment where they can prosper as individual players and gel as a team, crucial elements that have allowed for a positive move forward for all of our men's national team programs." Since its inception, 170 players have been through the full-time Residency Program, and more than 40 of those players have moved on to Major League Soccer, or the professional leagues in Europe. Twelve players have also registered at least one cap with the full MNT: Freddy Adu, DaMarcus Beasley, Michael Bradley, Bobby Convey, Landon Donovan, Eddie Gaven, Eddie Johnson, Chad Marshall, Oguchi Onyewu, Heath Pearce, Santino Quaranta and Jonathan Spector. Beasley and Donovan both started in the 2002 FIFA World Cup as 20-year-olds, and were joined by Convey, Onyewu and Johnson in 2006. In its first year of existence, the U.S. Soccer Residency Program enrolled 20 of the elite players in the country to train together in Bradenton and produced instant success as the Under-17s qualified for the FIFA Under-17 World Championship in New Zealand in November of 1999. On the world stage, the American teenagers rose to the occasion, winning their group and advancing to the semifinals before being ousted in a penalty shootout. The fourth-place finish tied for the best showing by a U.S. Men’s Youth National Team in a major international competition. Also, U.S. stars Donovan and Beasley were awarded the Gold and Silver Balls, respectively, as the top two players in the entire tournament. After struggling in the “Group of Death” two years later, the U.S. rebounded with back-to-back fifth place finishes in the following two FIFA U-17 World Championships in 2003 and 2005. Last September at the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship, the U.S. went undefeated in group play to win their group for just the third time in 11 appearances, and the first time since 1999. U-17 Men's National Team Residency Roster By Position - 2006 Fall Semester GOALKEEPERS (4): Josh Lambo (Middleton, Wis.), Zac MacMath* (St. Petersburg, Fla.), David Meves* (Arlington Heights, Ill.), Larry Jackson (East Palo Alto, Calif.) DEFENDERS (11): Brandon Lee (Tenafly, N.J.), Howard Turk* (Fairfax, Va.), TJ Nelson (Garland, Texas), Mykell Bates (Roseville, Calif.), Christian Ibeagha* (Edmond, Okla.), Alonzo Carter* (Fairfax, Va.), Zarek Valentin* (Lancaster, Pa.), Aubrey Perry* (Oconee, Fla.), Kofi Sarkodie* (Huber Heights, Ohio), Nick Millington* (Raleigh, N.C.), Kyle Davies (Pleasanton, Calif.)
MIDFIELDERS (15): Matthew Uy (New Hyde Park, N.Y.), Daniel Wenzel (Federal Way, Wash.), Axel Levry (Fort Washington, Md.), Jared Jeffrey (Dallas, Texas), Dane Shea (College Station, Texas), Kirk Urso (Lombard, Ill.), Alex Dixon (Humble, Texas), Jesse Paredes (Los Angeles, Calif.), Brandon Zimmerman (Pasco, Wash.), Greg Garza* (Grapevine, Texas), Brendan King* (Naperville, Ill.), Evan Raynr* (Calabasas, Calif.), Ryan Gracia* (Rockville, Md.), Amobi Okugo* (Sacramento, Calif.), Scott Caldwell* (Braintree, Mass.) FORWARDS (10): Sheanon Williams (Boston, Mass.), Ellis
McLoughlin (Seattle, Wash.), Bryan Dominguez (Atlanta, Ga.), Abdus Ibrahim
(Richfield, Minn.), Israel Sesay* (Gaithersburg, Md.), Danny Barerra (Thousand
Oaks, Calif.), Eduardo Gonzalez* (Atlanta, Ga.), Jose Altimorano* (San
Diego, Calif.), Dersu Abolfathi (Irvine, Calif.), Ryan Finley (Lumberton,
N.J.) Top of PageD.C. United U17s Off To EuropeD.C. United’s Under-17 youth team is in Ciudad Real, Spain this week in preparation for the Mundialito de Clubes U-17 tournament. The tournament features 16 of the world’s top clubs from 12 different countries and will take D.C. United through several Spanish cities. Boca Juniors, who United will meet in group play, won last year’s event. “We are pleased with the invitation to participate in such a prestigious tournament,” said United Technical Director Dave Kasper. “We look forward to competing with some of the top clubs in the world.” The U-17s open play against Dutch side Feyenoord in Ciudad Real on August 25, then travel to Miguelturra for the next day’s match-up with Argentina’s Boca Juniors, before finishing their opening-round play on August 28 in Puertollan against Spain’s Real Madrid. Should the team advance out of group play, quarterfinal play begins on August 30 with the semifinals set for September 1. The tournament concludes on September 3 with the finals in Albacete. The first MLS team to have youth teams competing in United Soccer League’s Super-Y League, United U-17s are currently 6-1-1. The U-17s staff includes head coach Gene Mishalow, assistant coach Matt Pilkington, team manager Greg Steininger and athletic trainer Randy Rocha. The following is the D.C. United U-17 roster: Goalkeepers: Justin Epperson
(Herndon, VA), Christopher Fenner (Manassas, VA); Defenders: Harry Beddo
(Oak Hill, VA), Michael Foss (South Riding, VA), James Lofton (Harrisonbug,
VA), Michael Purdy (Woodbridge, VA), Steven Duran (Chantilly, VA), Alec
McLean (Silver Spring, MD), James Ramadan (McLean, VA); Midfielders: Miguel
Campos (Lorton, VA), Matthew Castillo (Lanham, MD), Joe Crowley (Chadds
Ford, PA), Benjamin Fuentes (Fairfax, VA), Derek Markheim (Woodbridge,
VA), Eber Martinez (Woodbridge, VA), Jonathan Werth (University Park,
MD), Forwards: Joseph Barnd (Fairfax, VA), Jose Colchao-Arnillas (Burke,
VA), Kjell Crooke (Vienna, VA), Uchenna Onyeador (Potomac Falls, VA). Top of PageU.S. U-17s Beat Northern Ireland 2-0 Despite Playing A Man DownSix weeks before their respective national teams square off at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, the U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team will take on the Czech Republic in the final of the Ballymena International Tournament on Friday, April 28 at 7:30 p.m. local (2:30 p.m. ET). It marks the second straight year the two countries will meet in the final of the Northern Ireland tournament. The U.S. advanced to the final after defeating Northern Ireland, 2-0, despite playing down a man for 89 minutes. The victory over the hosts allowed the U.S. to win Group A with seven points (2-0-1). In their other group matches, the U.S. defeated Switzerland, 2-1 and drew with Finland, 3-3. The Czech Republic easily won Group B, outscoring their three opponents, 10-1. After defeating Belgium, 2-1, in their opening match, the Czechs thumped both Canada and Scotland by identical 4-0 scores. "Our whole goal when we arrived here was to come away with the championship," said U.S. Under-17 MNT head coach John Hackworth. "This group wanted to be the first team to win it all at the Ballymena. We've gotten to the final in a round-a-bout way, but we're there now. We knew the Czech Republic was going to have a strong team and they've definitely showed that with three wins in Group B. It will be a tough match and one we're looking forward to on Friday." The U.S. will be seeking revenge after losing to the Czech Republic, 1-0, in the 2005 final. In that match, the U.S. Under-17 ’89 MNT hit the post and the crossbar, but were unable to break the goal line in a closely contested affair. This will mark the fourth straight time the U.S. will play in the Ballymena final, having yet to take home the crown. Along with their loss to the Czechs in 2005, the U.S. was also runners-up in 2004, falling, 4-3, in penalty kicks to Switzerland, and 2002, dropping a 2-1 result to Israel. In total, the U.S. has competed in four of the previous six Ballymena International Tournaments, also participating in 2000 when they finished in fourth place. Sitting on four points, the U.S. had to defeat Northern Ireland to advance to the final as the hosts had cruised in their first two matches, defeating Finland, 6-0, and Switzerland, 3-0. U.S. forward Bryan Dominguez was given a straight red card in the first minute of play after he attempted to shrug off the hands of an opposing player. Play had stopped after the ball went out of bounds and Dominguez, attempting to get position for the throw-in, flung his arm backwards to unleash a Northern Ireland defender's hands against his back. In a harsh call, the referee, believing he had thrown an elbow, pulled the red card from his pocket and, in a flash, the U.S. had more to deal with than just the pro-Northern Ireland crowd. Despite playing a man down, the U.S. scored two goals in seven minutes in the first half, both coming due to the excellent play of Ellis McLoughlin. On the first goal, the lone forward buried a cross from Brek Shea in the 26th minute. Six minutes later, McLoughlin turned on his defender at the top of the box to get into the penalty area and was brought down from behind. Sheanon Williams stepped up and converted the spot kick to double the lead and give the U.S. some breathing room. The winning team will be presented with the David Cairns Memorial Trophy, in memory of the late David Cairns, former Chairman of N.I.S.F.A. and Northern Ireland's Under-15 Team Manager. Top of PageU.S. U17s Lose To Holland 2-0TRUJILLO, Peru (September 26, 2005) — The U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team’s strong run through the FIFA U-17 World Championship Peru 2005 ended after falling to Holland 2-0 in their quarterfinal match at Estadio Mansiche in Trujillo, Peru. With the loss, the U.S. finishes in fifth place for the second straight FIFA U-17 World Championship. The first meeting between the two nations in a FIFA tournament at any level was an even affair as both teams were able to find chances, but strikes by Jeffrey Sarpong just before halftime and late in the match pushed Holland on to the semifinals. The U.S. took 15 shots during the match and hit the crossbar in the second half, but for the first time in eight international matches couldn’t find the back of the net. “We thought we could come here and advance to the finals or at least the semifinals and that was our objective all along,” said U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team head coach John Hackworth, who suffered just his fourth international loss. “We’ve trained tremendously hard and put in a lot of work, and our goal was to come in and compete for a world championship, but we came up just a bit short. I’m extremely proud of the way our players performed at this tournament and they should hold their heads up high.” The fifth place finish tied for the second best performance ever by a U.S. team at a FIFA U-17 World Championship. The U.S. also finished in fifth place in 1991 and 2003. The USA’s only appearance in the final four was at the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championship in New Zealand. The first half was marred by 11 fouls by Holland, including a vicious studs-up tackle along the right sideline by John Goossens, which broke Kevin Alston’s left leg. The U.S. was forced to use an early substitution due to the injury, bringing in Jeremy Hall at right midfield and moving Ryan Soroka to fill the void at left back in the 16th minute. Each team had three shots on goal, but Holland went into halftime energized after scoring just after the fourth official signaled two minutes of extra time. The goal came after a sequence of 10 consecutive passes in the U.S. defensive end helped spring Sarpong for a goal from eight yards out. Sarpong helped start the play 45 yards from goal with a ball into Vurnon Anita, who played it back to Sarpong who then hit Diego Biseswar posting up. Biseswar then turned the ball to Anita, who was breaking into the area and was able to slide a square pass to Sarpong for the relatively easy finish. Despite the crushing blow right before halftime, the U.S. came out inspired as they looked to find the equalizer. In the 56th minute, Kyle Nakazawa was inches from pulling the U.S. even with his 20-yard free kick from the left corner of the penalty box, but his curling attempt found the crossbar. Later in the half, the U.S. and Holland traded red cards as U.S. defender Neven Subotic received his second caution in the 73rd minute, only to be followed by Holland’s Jordy Buijs five minutes later. As the U.S. pushed forward to find the late equalizer, it was Sarpong who delivered the dagger with his second strike of the night in the 84th minute. Ruud Vormer sprung Sarpong up the left side of the penalty area off a free kick and he was able to beat U.S. goalkeeper Bryant Rueckner to the lower right corner. “I think we came out in the second half and did everything we could in search for the equalizer,” said Hackworth. “I think we were just a little bit unlucky not to score. To Holland’s credit, they are a very good team and I congratulate them on a fantastic win. They did what they had to do and they didn’t let us score. We couldn’t buy one today.” The end of the first half was the most active in front of both nets. In the 38th minute, Holland had two good chances, but Rueckner and the U.S. backline were able to snuff them out. Biseswar was sent through and was one-v-one with Rueckner, but his shot from just inside the penalty area lacked the power it needed to get past the U.S. ‘keeper, who made the easy save to his left. Seconds later, Goossens was released down the left side and cut towards the near post, but Subotic took the ball off his foot before he could unleash a shot with a perfectly timed slide tackle. The U.S. took a turn on goal shortly after when Quavas Kirk pounced on a poor back pass by defender Erik Pieters. Kirk stole the ball on the right side and was in on goal, but Holland goalkeeper Tim Krul was able to save his near post attempt. Throughout the match, the U.S. won a number of free kicks around Holland’s penalty area, but was unable to capitalize off the set pieces as they had done earlier in the tournament. In the second half, both Nakazawa and Hall ripped free kicks from the top of the area that narrowly missed the frame. In the 61st minute, David Arvizu also took a chance on goal when he deftly brought down a long ball from Subotic along the left flank and got off a dangerous attempt. With one touch, he lost his defender and cut inside before ripping an 18-yard strike that carried just over the bar. Holland will now face Mexico, which advanced to the semifinals on Sunday (Sept. 25) by defeating Costa Rica 3-1 in overtime. Mexico was behind 1-0 until Efrain Valdez’s deflected shot found the back of the net to push the game into extra periods where Mexico buried two more chances to secure their spot in the final four. Turkey will face Brazil in the other semifinal, which will be played in Trujillo. - U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team Game Report - Participants: USA vs. Netherlands Scoring Summary: NED – Jeffrey Sarpong (Vurnon Anita) 46+ minute Lineups: NED: 1-Tim Krul (capt.); 2-Tom Hiariej, 4-Jordy Buijs,
14-Mike Van der Kooij, 15-Erik Pieters (5-Martijn Van der Laan, 46); 6-Ruud
Vormer, 8-Jeffrey Sarpong, 10-Vurnon Anita; 9-Diego Biseswar, 11-John
Goossens (18-Geert-Arend Roord, 82), 17-Marvin Emnes (7-Melvin Zaalman,
54) Statistical Summary: Misconduct Summary: Officials: 2005 FIFA U-17 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Semifinals Third Place Final Top of PageU.S. U17 Win Group With DrawThe U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team secured the top spot in Group C with a 1-1 draw with Ivory Coast in front of 12,000 fans at Estadio Nacional in Lima, Peru. With a 2-0-1 record and seven points as champions of Group C, the U.S. will face the Netherlands in the quarterfinals on Monday, Sept. 26. The U.S. took an early lead when Tampa’s Jeremy Hall headed home a ball from six yards, but Ivory Coast was able to pull out a late equalizer off a corner kick in the 87th minute to earn their only point of the competition. The Netherlands finished second in Group D after defeating Gambia 2-0 in their final group match. Brazil, Gambia and the Netherlands all finished with six points, but Brazil finished atop the group with a +5 goal differential, while the Netherlands took second at +3 and Gambia was left on the outside looking in at +2. This is the third time in 11 FIFA U-17 World Championship appearances that the U.S. has won their group and gone undefeated in group play. The U.S. didn’t lose a game in the first round during the 1991 tournament in Italy, and also went 2-0-1 during their best-ever fourth place finish in New Zealand ’99. The U.S. will make their second straight quarterfinals appearance and their fifth overall quarterfinals appearance in 11 Under-17 World Championships. “The one thing we wanted to make sure of was that we came out with the same intensity as we did in the first two games,” said U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team head coach John Hackworth, who increased his record in international play to 15-3-1. “We were able to do that real early and scored in the fourth minute, but from then on didn’t have enough of the ball. We didn’t posses it the way we are capable of doing.” “At the end of the day we finished first in our group in a World Cup, so you can’t really be too down. Now we have to get prepared for a tough team in the Netherlands. We know we can play better and I expect we will in the quarterfinal.” The U.S. got on the board early, scoring in a similar fashion to their opening goal of the tournament against North Korea. Deep along the left sideline, Amaechi Igwe threw the ball into penalty area where a succession of three headers found the back of the net. Preston Zimmerman got the first touch, knocking the ball into play, where Gabriel Farfan flicked it forward to Hall, who got the final header over the outstretched hands of Yves Andy from six yards out. The goal was Hall’s fifth international strike of his U-17 career and the fourth in his last six appearances, while it was the first international point for Farfan. Ivory Coast turned up the pressure and three minutes later almost found the back of the net when Koffi Kouassi’s header from six yards looked destined for the upper right corner. But U.S. goalkeeper Bryant Rueckner came up with one of his eight saves on the night, stretching out to parry it over the bar. Although he was unable to secure the shutout, Rueckner, another Tampa, FL player who shook off two shaky performances against North Korea and Italy, came up with two more convincing saves during the nail-biting final moments to secure the U.S. the top spot in Group C. “I think I definitely played better than I did in the first two games, but we also played well as a team,” said Rueckner. “I put those games behind me. I had talked to the coaches and they told me I was going to be fine and they were right. I just want to play the next game.” Hackworth made a few changes to the starting line-up, giving three players their first start during the tournament, which provided the regular starters a well-deserved rest. Daniel Kelly filled in for Kevin Alston at right back, while Hall and Farfan stepped into the outside midfield roles for Quavas Kirk and Ryan Soroka. The Farfan brothers, Gabriel and Michael, started just their second international match together for the Under-17s. The twins have played three games together during their time with the U-17s, but were only in the starting XI in an international friendly against Honduras this June in Carson, Calif. In the other Group C match, North Korea drew 1-1 with Italy to finish second and advance to the quarterfinals against Brazil. POST-MATCH QUOTES - U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team Game Report - Participants: USA vs. Ivory Coast Scoring Summary: USA – Jeremy Hall (Gabriel Farfan) 4th minute CIV: 16-Andy Yves; 2-Ali Keita (9-Koffi Kouassi, 60),
4-Romaric Bosson (capt.), 6-Jules Agoussi, 18-Siaka Bamba; 5-Marius Gnabouyou,
3-Irenee Kouakou, 15-Diarra Vamara (12-Serge Kouadio, 46), 13-Zie Diabate;
10-Alassane Diomande (8-Pacome Kouassi, 75), 11-Ismael Fofana. Statistical Summary: Misconduct Summary: Officials:
Saturday, September 17 Tuesday, September 20 Friday, September 23 Quarterfinals Semifinals Third Place Final Top of PageU.S. U-17s Beat Italy To AdvanceThe U.S. Under-17 Men’s National advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship with an impressive 3-1 victory against Italy in their second match at Estadio Elias Aguirre Romero in Chiclayo, Peru. All three U.S. goals came in the second half with Ofori Sarkodie scoring first, followed by Kyle Nakazawa and Ryan Soroka. Sitting atop Group C with six points after outclassing the European giants, the U.S. didn’t secure a spot in the quarterfinals until North Korea defeated Ivory Coast 3-0 in the second match of the day in Chiclayo. The U.S. will make their second straight appearance in the quarterfinals and their fifth appearance in 11 Under-17 World Championships. This is the third time the U.S. has won their first two matches in group play, also pulling off the feat in 1991 and 2003. The three-goal game marked the first time in the USA's 38-game U-17 World Championship history that the team has scored at least three goals in consecutive games. The U.S. will play their final match at Estadio Nacional on Friday, Sept. 23 against Ivory Coast. Kickoff for the match is 3:30 p.m. CT and will be televised live on Fox Soccer Channel. Fans can also follow the match live on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker, presented by Philips Electronics. “Getting a victory against Italy that enabled us to advance to the quarterfinals is a great achievement by our young players,” said U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team head coach John Hackworth, who increased his record in international play to 14-3-1. “We came out and executed our game plan almost perfectly today and were able to control the majority of the match. I was extremely impressed by how we played and were able to keep our composure for 90 minutes.” “Our job isn’t done even though we’ve qualified for the next round. We will enjoy this win, but then begin to prepare for our final group match against Ivory Coast. “ After a scoreless first half dominated by the U.S., captain Ofori Sarkodie put the Americans on the board when he blasted home a free kick from Kyle Nakazawa in the 47th minute. Nakazawa flighted a perfect free kick from the left sideline into the area that Sarkodie brought down, and then finished high into the net with a calm turn from six yards out. The U.S. took a man advantage when Italy forward Salvatore Foti was shown a straight red in the 60th minute for an off-the-ball incident directed toward U.S. goalkeeper that was witnessed by the assistant referee. Seven minutes later, Nakazawa took it upon himself to score on another superbly taken set piece for the second straight game of the tournament. His 25-yard direct strike bent over the wall and into the upper left corner of the goal past Italian goalkeeper Enrico Alfonso. The U.S. continued to cruise until Italy substitute Andrea Russotto began to give the U.S. fits in the midfield and eventually cut the U.S. lead in half when he scored in the 74th minute off a strange 45-yard free kick that tricked Rueckner. Russotto’s service from along the left sideline into the penalty area went over the head of everyone before skipping off the artificial turf and into the right side of the net. With the lead down to one, the U.S. showed a maturity in their game by not folding. Instead, they continued to dominate and frustrate the Italians, who eventually finished the game with six yellow cards and an ejected coach to go along with the red card. Ryan Soroka got the final tally and secured the U.S. win by finishing into an empty net in the 90th minute after a dangerous, long free kick from second-half substitute Amaechi Igwe dropped into the area for Preston Zimmerman. The scrappy forward fought through an Italian defender and was able to flick the ball past Alfonso into empty space for Soroka to finish easily. The goal by Soroka was the 1,000th in the overall history of the FIFA U-17 World Championship. “Scoring any goal feels so good, so really it’s just another goal,” said Soroka, who also tallied in the opener against North Korea. “I’m glad I was able to get the mark, but I had no idea about it at the time obviously. I was more happy to just secure our win with the third goal.” The U.S. made a few slight changes on the backline to start the match, putting Nikolas Besagno as a central defender and moving Blake Wagner to left back in place of Amaechi Igwe. The move paid dividends as Besagno’s physical presence was apparent as he, along with the Ofori Sarkodie, Kevin Alston and Wagner, won head balls and frustrated Italy’s towering forwards throughout the match. In the 66th minute, Besagno was substituted after twisting his ankle and is listed as day-to-day. The U.S. was all over Italy from the opening whistle, keeping possession, setting the tempo and putting pressure on the Italian backline. Forward David Arvizu was the most dangerous player on the field during the entire 90 minutes as he continually found gaps behind Italy’s defenders on and off the dribble to put crosses into the box or find space himself to take a look on target. Arvizu had his best opportunity of the first half in the 31st minute when he joined Zimmerman on a two-on-two towards goal. Michael Farfan threaded the ball straight down the middle of the field for Zimmerman and Arvizu sprinted up his right side as he dribbled forward towards the penalty area. Zimmerman pushed the ball to his right for Arvizu at the top of the 18 where he unleashed a low drive that went inches past the left post. Three minutes later, Arvizu had another chance when Blake Wagner sent in a cross from the left flank. All alone at the back post, Arvizu took a settling touch but Davide Brivio was able to close down and block his half volley. Arvizu continued to be active in the second half and was unlucky to get on the scoresheet. A number of times, the seemingly tireless forward ran down long balls before beating defenders on the dribble to create space for a shot on goal. The victory enacted a bit of revenge for the U.S. national team program as the Under-20s were bounced out of the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands this past June by Italy in the Round of 16.
Participants: USA vs. Italy Scoring Summary: USA – Ofori Sarkodie (Kyle Nakazawa) 47th minute Lineups: ITA: 1-Enrico Alfonso; 2-Davide Brivio, 3-Lorenzo De
Silvestri (capt.), 4-Manuel Angelucci (, 16-Matteo Scozzarella, 74), 5-Michele
Cremonesi; 6-Daniele Greco (10-Andrea Russotto, 65), 7-Tommaso D’Attoma
(17-Michael Cia, 57), 8-Simone Palmero, 18-Marco Mancosu; 9-Cristian Tiboni,
11-Salvatore Foti. Statistical Summary: Misconduct Summary: Officials:
Saturday, September 17 Tuesday, September 20 Friday, September 23 Top of PageU.S. U17s Open With Win Over North KoreaThe U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team got past North Korea 3-2 in their opening match of the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship in front of 15,200 spectators at Estadio Elias Aguirre Romero in Chiclayo, Peru, putting them tied for first place in Group C. The U.S. scored all three of their goals off set pieces and were up by two goals with five minutes left in the match, but had to hold off a frenzied North Korea attack in the final moments for the victory. Ryan Soroka scored off a throw-in and Kyle Nakazawa buried a free kick in the first half, before Preston Zimmerman buried the eventual game-winner off a corner kick in the 72nd minute, but North Korea came close to stealing a point. The Asian team cut the deficit to one with a goal in the 86th minute and peppered the U.S. goal in hopes of finding the late equalizer before the final whistle. The U.S. sits tied atop Group C with Italy, who also won their opening match by defeating Ivory Coast 4-3 in an electric affair that included three goals in the last five minutes. Tied 2-2, Italy thought it had found the game-winner in the 86th minute only to see Ivory Coast pull even a minute later, but a last-minute strike gave them the dramatic three points. The U.S. will face the Italians in their next Group C match, taking on the third place UEFA qualifiers at Estadio Elias Aguirre Romero on Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 3:30 p.m. CT. The match will be televised live on Fox Soccer Channel and same-day delay at 9:15 ET/PT on Galavision. The victory marked the sixth time out of the record 11 FIFA U-17 World Championships in which the U.S. has participated that the team has taken the maximum three points from their opening match. “It was our first game in the World Championship and we came away with three points, so we accomplished our goal,” said U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team head coach John Hackworth, who increased his record in international play to 13-3-1. “I’m proud of the guys’ effort today, but we can play much better and we’re going to have to if we want to progress in this tournament. We did what we needed to get the win today, though, and now we are concentrating on our next match against Italy.” The first half was an even affair as each team took seven shots on goal
with five on target, but it was the U.S. that was able to capitalize on
their opportunities to take a 2-1 lead into halftime. The U.S. will now have the opportunity to enact a bit of revenge for
their older counterparts when they play Italy. The U.S. Under-20s were
knocked out of the FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands this
past June with a 3-1 loss to Italy in the Round of 16. 2005 FIFA U-17 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP Top of PageHackworth Picks Final U17 TeamUnited States Under-17 Men’s National Soccer Team head coach John Hackworth has named his 20-man roster that will represent the U.S. at the 2005 FIFA Under-17 World Championship from September 16-October 2 in Peru. Of the players selected, 14 were part of the squad that took first place in Heredia, Costa Rica, in April to qualify for the USA’s 11th consecutive U-17 World Championship, continuing the streak as the only country to qualify for every World Championship at this age level. The naming of the roster culminates more than two years of preparation for the U.S. players, who are members of the 40-player U.S. Soccer U-17 Residency Program in Bradenton, Fla. All but two of the players part of the 1988 class of players in Residency, with forward Josmer Altidore and third-choice goalkeeper Brian Perk making the roster from the younger 1989 age group. The team will travel to Chiclayo, Peru, on Sunday, Sept. 11, and conduct five days of training in final preparation for Group C play with North Korea (Korea DPR), Italy and Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire). The U.S. will kick off the tournament against North Korea on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 12:45 p.m. CT, before facing Italy on Tuesday, Sept. 20 (3:30 p.m. CT) and concluding group play against Ivory Coast on Friday, September 23 (3:30 p.m. CT). The U.S. will play their first two group matches against North Korea and Italy at Estadio Elias Aguirre in Chiclayo, before moving to Lima to face Ivory Coast in their third and final group match at Estadio Nacional. Fox Soccer Channel and Galavision will be televising all three of the USA’s first round games. Between the two stations, all three of the matches will be shown live as Galavision will broadcast the opener against North Korea live and FSC will have live coverage of the Italy and Ivory Coast games. Fans can also follow every U.S. match at the U-17 World Championship live via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker, presented by Philips Electronics. Check ussoccer.com for the latest television schedule information (Add LINK). “Over the past two years, these 20 players have demonstrated to me and the rest of the coaching staff that they belong on this roster and are ready to compete against the best at the World Championship,” said Hackworth, who took over the head coaching duties last November and has compiled a 12-3-1 international record. “We have a few additions and changes to our team since the qualifying tournament that I believe will provide us with the best chance to advance out of our group and get us towards our ultimate goal of advancing to the final. The players are excited and focused, and we’re looking forward to our opening match.” A major plus for the U.S. is the return of Quavas Kirk, who has recovered from a broken foot he suffered in early April that forced him to miss the CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament. The standout midfielder has almost fully recovered and will be looking to return to the form that saw him dominate in the beginning of year when he recorded an astounding 16 goals and five assists in just 15 games. Kirk, who is one of two professionals on the squad after getting drafted by the L.A. Galaxy in the third round during the 2005 MLS SuperDraft, showed his value with both goals in a 2-0 victory over fellow World Championship participant China this past weekend. Kirk’s presence takes the goal scoring pressure off of forward Preston Zimmerman, who has been a consistent scoring threat in his own right since joining the U-17s in April of 2004. The Pasco, Wash., native has compiled 14 goals and 12 assists, shining when the stakes are highest, leading the U-17s in international goals scored with 11 strikes in just 29 games. Forwards David Arvizu, Omar Gonzalez and Altidore will give Hackworth various options up front. Arvizu’s composure and field awareness has complimented the hard-charging style of Zimmerman, as has the height of six-foot-four Gonzalez. Altidore has only played in a handful of games with the older U-17s, but has shown his mark with the younger team, leading the squad with 20 goals in 24 games this year. Midfielders Ryan Soroka and Kyle Nakazawa will look to propel the U.S. attack during the tournament. Soroka’s swift playmaking skills and blazing speed make him a nuisance for opposing defenses on the flanks, while Nakazawa’s poise in the midfield and ability to find the open man has provided the U-17s with a creative midfield attack. Twins Michael and Gabriel Farfan, and Daniel Kelly and Jeremy Hall will also contribute to an impressive central attack for the U.S. A fixture for the U.S. in the defensive midfielder position is Nikolas Besagno, who was the first overall pick in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft by Real Salt Lake this past January. Besagno joined the U-17 Residency Program in April 2004 and quickly made his way into the starting lineup as he impressed with tough tackles, smart decisions and a durable work rate. While Kirk is back, the U.S. will once again head into a major competition this year minus a key player as central defender Eric Lichaj was ruled unable to perform after suffering a torn meniscus in his left knee just this past month. Lichaj’s experience and composure in the back will be missed and force Hackworth to rearrange his back four. “Losing Eric Lichaj is a tough pill to swallow,” said Hackworth.
“But we have been able to use a number of different lineups on the
backline and are confident that the collection of starters and reserves
included in the roster will be able to step up and fill the defensive
void.” Bryant Rueckner is the first-choice goalkeeper for the
U-17s as he has an impressive 1.09 goals against average, including three
shutouts, while compiling a 13-9-6 record during the past two years. Diego
Restrepo and Perk will serve as his capable backups. The 16-team field is divided into four groups of four, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the quarterfinals. The 32-match tournament will take place in five venues across Peru, with games in Trujillo, Lima, Chiclayo, Piura and Iquitos. Iquitos, which is located in the northeastern province of the country on the banks of the Amazon River in the heart of the Peruvian jungle, was a last-minute venue addition. The fifth venue is quite a distance from the other four venues, which are all located along the Pacific Ocean, and is only reachable by river or air. The U.S. will only travel to Iquitos if they finish second in Group C, playing their quarterfinal match against the winner of Group D at the venue. This is the 20th anniversary of the FIFA U-17 World Championship, with the first ever world championship for this age group (which started out a U-16 tournament) taking place in 1985 in front of huge crowds in China. A number of talented players have played in a U-17 World Championship, including Luis Figo, Alessandro Del Piero, Juan Veron, Francesco Totti and Ronaldinho. A total of 67 players that have taken part in a U-17 World Championship have gone on to represent their countries at the FIFA World Cup, with two playing in a final – Ronaldinho (Brazil) and Emmanuel Petit (France). United States Under-17 National Team Roster Defenders (5): 5-Ofori Sarkodie (Chicago Magic), 14-Neven Subotic (Manatee Magic), 13-Blake Wagner (HC United), 3-Kevin Alston (Potomac Cougars), 2-Amaechi Igwe (Santa Clara Sporting) Midfielders (7): 16-Nikolas Besagno (Real Salt Lake), 12-Gabriel Farfan (Nomads), 19-Michael Farman (Nomads), 17-Jeremy Hall (HC United), 15-Daniel Kelly (TNFC), 8-Kyle Nakazawa (ISC Strikers), 11-Ryan Soroka (FC Delco) Forwards (5): 4-Josmer Altidore (Boca Juniors), 10-David Arvizu (Pateadores), 7-Omar Gonzalez (Dallas Texans), 6-Quavas Kirk (LA Galaxy), 9-Preston Zimmerman (Crossfire Premier) Top of PageU.S. U-17s Win….Advance To PeruHEREDIA, Costa Rica (April 16, 2005) — The U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team captured the first of three CONCACAF berths for the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship with a spirited 2-1 victory over Costa Rica in their final match in Group A of the U-17 Final Round CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament at Estadio Eladio Rosabal Cordero in Heredia, Costa Rica. The U.S. finished with seven points to win their qualifying tournament for the third straight time and advance to their 11th straight FIFA U-17 World Championship, keeping the streak alive as the only country that has qualified for every FIFA World Championship at this age level. The U.S. is the eighth team to book their spot in the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship, which will take place in Peru from September 16-October 2. Nikolas Besagno provided the U.S. with an early lead in the 11th minute when he buried a misplayed ball by Costa Rica goalkeeper Alfonso Quesada. Omar Gonzalez blasted home a pass from Kevin Alston in the 61st minute as the U.S. took a commanding 2-0 lead. That lead was sliced in half just six minutes later when Cesar Elizondo Quesada tucked home a rebound from close range. Costa Rica applied heavy pressure in the final ten minutes of the match, but a lucky bounce off the post and a great save by Bryant Rueckner allowed the U.S. to escape with a victory. “I’m extremely proud of our players right now,” said U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team head coach John Hackworth, who remains undefeated in international play with a 6-0-1 record. “They played their hearts out, battled through a lot of adversity and came out on top. It’s a credit to the players. They worked hard and this was their day to celebrate.” In front of a raucous crowd the U.S. saved the best for last, playing remarkably better against Costa Rica than they did in their first two matches against El Salvador and Cuba. The U.S. defense was staunch throughout the game as they were well organized, made a number of timely tackles and were dominant in the air. Blake Wagner, who started his first match of the tournament as regular starter Amaechi Igwe was suspended due to yellow card accumulation, was one of the best players on the field. From his left back position, Wagner was dominant in one-v-one defending and energized the U.S. attack with well-placed passes up front for Gonzalez and Preston Zimmerman. The two teams traded shots in the first ten minutes before the U.S. capitalized on a fatal mishap by Quesada on a corner kick. Wagner served in the corner from the right side to the near post inside the six-yard box and Quesada reached up to snag it out of the air. With Jeremy Hall challenging in front of him, Quesada let it slip through his gloves and bounce to the back post where Besagno pounced on the loose ball and slammed it over the goal line. The strike was Besagno’s first-ever international goal. The game began to settle into a rhythm and it was apparent that the most important match-up on the field was going to be between the two tallest players. U.S. forward Omar Gonzalez, who replaced David Arvizu who had accumulated two cautions in previous matches, was marked up by Costa Rica defender Kendall Waston. During the match, the two were constantly fighting for head balls and passes sent through the back line. The 6-foot-4 Gonzalez was impressive in his first international start, as he won a majority of the battles to provide the U.S. with a dangerous attack and create opportunities on goal. On the other end of the field, the U.S. defense held Costa Rica to only two shots on goal in the first half, both of which went directly to Rueckner for easy saves. Costa Rica’s most dangerous attempt came in the final minute of the half when Julio Garcia got past Hall on the right elbow of the penalty area and ripped a drive that went a few feet over the crossbar. The beginning of the second half was defined by tough tackles by the U.S., especially by Besagno and Ryan Soroka. Besagno had his most complete game of the tournament, winning the ball with crunching tackles and helping to dictate the pace. Soroka was imposing on the right flank despite his small stature, making life difficult for defender Roberto Carrillo, who replaced Costa Rica’s starting left back David Calvo in the 37th minute after he suffered an injury. The U.S. doubled their lead in the 61st minute when Gonzalez got free from Waston and slammed home a through ball for his first international goal. Alston knocked the ball up the right sideline for Zimmerman, who tried to get a flick on the ball but couldn’t get his head to it, allowing the ball to continue on its path into the penalty area. Gonzalez timed his run perfectly past Waston and hit a one-time blast past the onrushing Quesada into the open net. The extra cushion only lasted six minutes as Elizondo Quesada buried home a rebound. Carrillo had found some room at the top of the box and hit a knuckling left-footed shot that Rueckner did well to get down and get a piece of, but the deflection got too far away from him and Elizondo Quesada came flying in at the right post to smash it into the net. Costa Rica finished in second place and will now play a two-game playoff for the final CONCACAF berth. The ticos will face the second-place finisher in Group B, which will be contested among Mexico, Canada, Haiti and Honduras in Mexico from May 17-21, in a home-and-away playoff series. The dates and location of the two matches would be decided after Group B play is completed. This is the fifth time the U.S. has won the CONCACAF Final Round Qualifying Tournament. The U.S. won it twice (1983 and 1992) when just one winner was crowned from 1983-1996 and twice since 199, when the event became a final round qualification consisting of two groups. The U.S. took home the Group A title during the 2001 and 2003 competitions. Along with the U.S., seven teams have qualified for the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship. Peru automatically advances as host while China, DPR Korea and Qatar earned Asia’s three berths and Australia won the Oceania qualifying tournament. Brazil and Uruguay advanced from South America. - U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team Game Report - Participants: USA vs. Costa Rica Scoring Summary: USA – Nikolas Besagno (Blake Wagner) 11th minute Lineups: CRC: 1-Alfonso Quesada; 3-Rudy Forbes, 4-Fernando Paniagua,
5-Carlos Chacon, 6-David Calvo (7-Roberto Carrillo, 37); 9-Julio Cesar
Garcia, 10-Luis Diego Cordero (14-Carlos Sandoval, 82), 11-Jean Carlos
Solorzano (21-Cesar Elizondo Quesada, 59), 13-Celso Borges; 19-Guillermo
Guardia, 20-Kendall Waston. Statistical Summary: Misconduct Summary: Officials: STANDINGS / RESULTS Tuesday, April 12 Thursday, April 14 Saturday, April 16 - Post-Match Quotes - On the play of forward Omar Gonzalez, who scored in his first international
start: On the play of Blake Wagner, who got his first start of the tournament: On the team’s play defensively: On keeping the streak going: Defender Ofori Sarkodie On playing better tonight: On how it feels to qualify after working towards that goal for a
year-and-a-half: Defender Blake Wagner On how it feels to qualify: Midfielder Nikolas Besagno On how it feels to qualify: Goalkeeper Bryant Rueckner On Guardia’s shot off the post: Forward Omar Gonzalez On the game-winning goal: Top of PageU.S. U-17s Tied By CubaThe U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team scored in the first 60 seconds, but struggled offensively for the majority of their second match in Group A of the U-17 Final Round CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament, drawing 1-1 with Cuba at Estadio Eladio Rosabal Cordero in Heredia, Costa Rica. The U.S. had opened the qualification tournament with a 3-0 shutout of El Salvador. The surprising draw drops the U.S. into second place in Group A with four points behind Costa Rica, which leads the group with six points after defeating El Salvador 2-1 in the second match of the doubleheader this evening in Heredia. The draw against Cuba makes the final game against host Costa Rica even more difficult, as their opponents can sit back on defense and play for a tie, which would advance them to the world championship. The U.S. will meet Costa Rica in their final match of the qualifying tournament on Saturday, April 16 at 7 p.m. local time (9 p.m. ET) with a automatic berth to the 2005 FIFA World Championship on the line. The U.S. can only receive the automatic berth with a win over Costa Rica to finish atop the group, as the winner of Group A automatically qualifies for the FIFA World Championship to be played in Peru from September 15-October 2. A draw against Costa Rica would secure the U.S. with a second-place finish and keep their world championship hopes alive, as they would play a two-game playoff for the final CONCACAF berth. The U.S. would face the second-place finisher in Group B, which will be contested among Mexico, Canada, Haiti and Honduras in Mexico from May 17-21, in a home-and-away playoff series. The dates and location of the two matches would be decided after Group B play is completed. The U.S. could also finish in second place and compete in playoff series if they lose to Costa Rica, depending on the match between Cuba and El Salvador. A Cuba win would pull the teams even at four points and it would move to tiebreakers, the first being goal differential. Before either team had really settled into the game Kyle Nakazawa
provided the U.S. with a brilliant beginning against Cuba, burying a left-footed
strike past the Cuba goalkeeper Jose Selles into the
lower right corner in the first 60 seconds. The early goal turned out
to be a bad omen for the U.S. as their offensive attack was lethargic
at times during the match and the back line struggled with Cuba’s
attack. In the second half, Adrian Hernandez took advantage striking Cuba’s
only shot on goal past Bryant Rueckner into the upper right corner for
the equalizer. The U.S. will be without Amaechi Igwe and David Arvizu for their final match against Costa Rica as both players received their second yellow of the tournament. “The bottom line is we didn’t play well,” said U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team head coach John Hackworth, who’s international record now stands a 5-0-1. “We got an early goal and sometimes the natural inclination is to drop back and defend and that was the wrong thing to do. It just got worse for us from there. "The draw really doesn’t change our mindset or what we need to accomplish. We knew coming in it would probably come down to the last game and that we would need to beat Costa Rica to guarantee we’d finish in first place and get the automatic berth to the World Championship. We will try to rebound from this game and do just that.” The U.S. started in a different formation than their first game, moving into a 4-3-3 with Arvizu, Preston Zimmerman and Ryan Soroka up front, Nakazawa in an attacking midfielder role and both Nikolas Besagno and Carlos Borja as defensive midfielders. Directly after the goal, the U.S. seemed to fall back and defend, stifling their offensive attack and allowing Cuba to direct the pace during stretches of the match. Cuba had success down the flanks and forced the U.S. defenders into committing fouls deep in the U.S. defensive half. The U.S. moved back to a 4-4-2 to start the second half, bringing Soroka back to right midfield and pushing Nakazawa out wide left. The switch almost paid dividends early on as Soroka was a couple feet from doubling their lead. Igwe sent in a long ball up into the left side of the penalty area where Zimmerman ran past his defender and tried to chip the onrushing ‘keeper to the right post. His shot was a bit wide, but Soroka darted in and got a foot to it, but couldn’t cut the tight angle as his shot hit the outside side-netting. Cuba got the equalizer in the 65th minute after pushing up on the left flank. The ball got deflected up in the air near the top of the box and Ofori Sarkodie challenged a Cuban forward for the ball, getting a slight piece of it with his head. The ball fell to Dayan Gonzalez, who quickly took a shot that was blocked by Borja. The ball fell back to Hernandez, who curled a shot into the upper right corner past Rueckner, who’s view was blocked on the play. The U.S. is the only nation to qualify and compete in all 10 FIFA World Championships at this age group. The U.S. won the CONCACAF Final Round Qualifying Tournament twice (1983 and 1992) when just one winner was crowned from 1983-1996. Since the event became a final round qualification consisting of two groups in 1999, the U.S. has won their group twice, taking home the Group A title during the past two competitions in 2001 and 2003.
Participants: USA vs. Cuba Scoring Summary: USA – Kyle Nakazawa (Preston Zimmerman) 1st minute Lineups: CUB: 1-José Selles; 2-Jesus Montes, 3-Miguel
Angel Lopez, 4-Denis Suarez, 6-Yannier Martinez (9-Leonardo Villa, 76);
7-Luis Alberto Villegas, 8-Alberto Gomez (5-Yasmany Jesus Bernal, 85),
10-Adrian Hernandez, 14-Armando Trejo; 15-Osmany Torres, 16-Felix Guerra
(17-Dayan Gonzalez, 64). Statistical Summary: Misconduct Summary: Officials: STANDINGS / RESULTS Tuesday, April 12 Thursday, April 14 Saturday, April 16 Top of PageU.S. U17s Begin Fall Semester In BradentonU.S. Soccer’s Under-17 Residency Program kicks off its fall semester today, as 40 players will conduct their first training session at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. In all, 24 players are returning to the residency program for the second year, while 16 players will be beginning their first year under the instruction of head coach John Ellinger. The fall semester begins the second year of a two-year cycle as the U.S. will train for a little over eight months in preparation for CONCACAF qualifying in Costa Rica from April 12-16, 2005. The U-17s will attempt to continue its streak of being the only nation to qualify for each FIFA Under-17 World Championship, a total of 10, one every two years since 1985. “Our qualifying tournament is not too far away and now is the time we need to begin working hard as we will have a difficult trip to Costa Rica next spring,” said Ellinger. “The main objective is to once again qualify for the World Championship and in the past five years we have seen how the residency program has given our players an excellent opportunity to accomplish that goal. In Bradenton, the players enjoy an environment where they can prosper as individual players and gel as a team, crucial elements that have allowed for a positive move forward for our Under-17 program." Started in 1999, the U.S. Soccer full-time residency program has become an important piece of the overall player development picture. Over the past five years, the Federation has been able to double the number of players enrolled in the program as it continues to increase its investment in player development and provide greater opportunities for young players, expanding to 40 players last fall. The 40 U.S. players attend classes at nearby Edison Academy and then return to the IMG campus in the afternoon to train daily under the guidance of U.S. Under-17 head coach John Ellinger, and assistant coaches John Hackworth, Peter Mellor and Keith Fulk. With 40 players in residency, the program is able to field two full teams that train together during the week, and get the chance to compete against college and club teams on the weekends. "Increasing the size of the full-time residency program from 20 to 40 players since its inception is a crucial step as the program continues to evolve and be more competitive," said Ellinger. "We've seen over the years how the program has helped produce talented players, some of which have gone on to Major League Soccer and even played for the U.S. in the World Cup.” Sixteen of the 40 players are beginning their first semester in the full-time program, while 24 are returning for their second or third semester, including Eric Avila, the oldest player in residency as he was born on Nov. 24, 1987. The rest of the players were born in the following two years, with 27 born in 1988 and 12 in 1989. This group of U-17s have steadily improved since coming together in September 2003, compiling a 24-16-8 record while outscoring their opponents 85-56. After a lackluster showing in April in their first international tournament – the Montaigu Tournament in Montaigu, France – where they finished eighth, the Under-17s came away with back-to-back second place finishes. Less than a month later at the Ballymena International Tournament in Northern Ireland, the U.S. won their group before falling in the final to Switzerland in penalty kicks. In early August, the U.S. traveled to Peru for the Copa Telefonica Tournament, where they defeated Peru and tied Ecuador to finish behind tournament winner Colombia. Returning to lead the U.S. attack for the U-17s are three players – Quavas Kirk, Preston Zimmerman and Ryan Soroka. Kirk leads the team in overall goals scored with nine (three international), while Zimmerman, who joined the residency program just this April, has compiled an impressive strike rate with six goals (five international) in 16 games. Soroka, who’s swift playmaking skills make him a nuisance for opposing defenses, leads the team with five assists, while adding three goals. On defense, the U.S. is bolstered by a backline of Michael Balogun, Richard Edgar, Eric Lichaj and Ofori Sarkodie, that has played over 20 games together over their first year in residency. Along with first-choice ‘keeper Michael Rueckner, the Under-17s have held their opponents to just over a goal a game, giving up just 29 goals in 28 games. Over 20 players that have gone through residency have moved on to Major League Soccer or to clubs overseas in England, Holland, France and Germany. In just the past year, five residency players from the last two-year cycle moved on to the professional ranks, with Freddy Adu, Eddie Gaven, Danny Szetela and Michael Bradley heading to MLS, while Jonathan Spector made waves in his first year with Manchester United, winning the club’s Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award (given to the best academy player) last season and starting with the first team during their three-game tour in the United States this summer. A few players have used the residency program as a springboard to the U.S. Men’s National Team, including Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Bobby Convey and, just recently, Gaven, who came on in relief in a friendly against Poland. Donovan and Beasley, both members of the first team to take part in the residency program, eventually pushed their way onto the 2002 FIFA World Cup squad, making meaningful contributions as the U.S. advanced to the quarterfinals. “The residency program gives our elite players the opportunity to train in a professional environment and to develop in a way they would not otherwise be able to develop,” said U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bruce Arena. “I think that increasing the size of the program is extremely important, as it allows us to look at more players over a wider range of ages.” In its first year of existence, the U.S. Soccer residency program enrolled 20 of the elite players in the country to train together in Bradenton and produced instant success as the Under-17s qualified for the FIFA Under-17 World Championship in New Zealand in November. On the world stage, the American teenagers rose to the occasion, winning their group and advancing to the semifinals before being ousted in a penalty shootout. The fourth-place finish tied for the best showing by a U.S. Youth National Team in a major international competition. Also, U.S. stars Donovan and Beasley were awarded the Gold and Silver Balls, respectively, as the top two players in the entire tournament. Two years later, the U.S. struggled when they were placed in what ended up being drawn into the “Group of Death” with Japan, France and Nigeria, the latter two ending up in the championship match. The U.S. fell in all three games, despite giving eventual champions France one of their best tests of the tournament scoring three times in a 5-3 loss. In August of 2003, the U.S. put together another impressive run at the U-17 World Championship. With four goals, including a hat-trick in their opening match against South Korea, the 14-year-old Adu led the U-17s to victories in their first two games in Finland by a combined score of 8-2, which catapulted them into the quarterfinals and a fifth place finish. U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team U-17 MNT Staff Top of PageBrazil Dominates To Eliminate U.S. U17sLeonardo got Brazil started with a brilliant header
midway through the first half, while Ederson and Evandro
sealed the deal with goals three minutes apart after intermission, allowing
Brazil to squelch the the United States 3-0 in the quarterfinals of the
FIFA Under-17 World Championship this afternoon at soaked Kupittaa Stadium.
Brazil was in control throughout the match. The U.S. finished the 16-nation tournament with a 2-2 record, but was distinctly outplayed in its last three outings. It was the fourth time in 10 appearances in this event that the Americans advanced from group play to the single-elimination portion of the tournament. "The players did what they needed to do today," Brazil coach Paqueta said. "The boys showed their technique today, and I believe we are getting better with every game." On Wednesday, Brail will face Colombia while Argentina meets Spain in the semifinals. U.S. goalkeeper Phil Marfuggi was back in the starting lineup after being rested in Wednesday's 2-0 loss to Spain, but he suffered through a rough day. In the 10th minute, Marfuggi watched midfielder Arouca's blast from 35 yards skim off the crossbar. Eight minutes later, defender Sandro played a short right-side corner kick to Jonthan who dragged the ball to his left, then cut sharply to his right, sending U.S. forward Freddy Adu to one knee. Carrying to the end line, Jonathan crossed to Leonardo and the defender found plenty of room between two Americans to elevate and drill a wicked header. Marfuggi raised his hands over his head and got both on the shot, but it caromed to his right into the net for a 1-0 lead. "We were unlucky on the goal off the corner kick. I think that was our only mistake of the half," U.S. forward Jamie Watson said. "When we came out, we wanted to get the first goal in the second half to get the game back at 1-1, but unfortunately they came out and got the second goal, and then the third. It just kind of all went downhill from there." In the 61st minute, Ederson was wide open as he ran onto a lead horizontal pass from Arouca and the striker carried unimpeded into the left side of the penalty area. U.S. defender Kyle Helton tried futilely to shut Ederson down as two other Americans approached. Spotting Marfuggi at the near post, Ederson used the outside of his right boot to lob a perfect shot into the far corner for a 2-0 advantage. Three minutes later, Brazil had victory firmly in its grasp. Ederson controlled U.S. midfielder Eddie Gaven's clearance and poked a pass into the box for Leo to run down at the end line. In full stride, Leo sent a cross and Marfuggi dove out to his six-yard line to grab it. However, the U.S. keeper failed to control the ball and watched from the ground as Evandro knocked the sitter into the right side of the unprotected net to make it 3-0 with his fourth goal in four games. "Our plan was to keep the ball more and create opportunities to score and I think we did that," said U.S. coach John Ellinger. "But, in the end, Brazil did a great job of finishing today and that was the big difference. . . I'm not disappointed in the play of our guys at all. They worked extremely hard for two years and accomplished getting to the quarterfinals, which is something to be proud of." Adu, the renowned 14-year-old star who had four goals in the two U.S. triumphs, was not a major factor today. His touches were limited by Brazil which shadowed him with two or three players at all times. Adu was apparently fouled badly on several occasions, but Leo was the only transgressor to be shown a yellow card in the 56th minute. "I felt like I gave it my all, but in the end we just didn't get lucky," Adu said. "That's the way I think about it. I mean, give credit to Brazil. They were awesome and deserved to beat us today. Personally, I felt like I gave it my all." Brazil outshot the Americans 18-3, 7-2 on frame. The U.S. first shot came in the 38th minute when midfielder Danny Szetela fed Watson in the right side of the box, but the forward's off-balance effort was easily handled by keeper Bruno. The best U.S. chance came in the 47th minute when Watson lofted a pass to Adu who had a step on his defender. Adu triggered a quick shot from the top of the box, but Bruno raced 12 yards off his line and then dropped to his right to bat the attempt away with his right hand. "It's always a tough game drawing Brazil," Watson said. "They're such a good team, I wouldn't be surprised if they went all the way and won. We weren't going to roll over and have an easy quarterfinal win for them. We were going to make it tough. We just didn't come out and play the best we could." In the 69th minute, Joao chopped down Adu as he carried toward the top left of the box. From 25 yards out, U.S. defender Steve Curfman shot the free kick to the near post, but Bruno responded quickly to make the save look easy. Adu professed admiration for the Brazilian style. "I feel like that's how I play," he said. "I go out there on the field and I like the little touches, doing moves and beating people off the dribble. That's exactly how they play. I'm not going to lie about it, I admire it a lot. And it works for them, so why stop." Brazil 3, United States 0 Lineups: Brazil Bruno, Leo (Felipe 67), Joao (13-Marlon, 86), Leonardo, Sandro, Junior, Jonathan, Arouca, Ederson, Evandro (Thyago 81), Abuda. United States - Quentin Westberg, Kyle Helton (Julian Valentin 87), Jonathan Spector, Brandon Owens, Steve Curfman, Eddie Gaven, Corey Ashe, Danny Szetela, John DiRaimondo (Michael Harrington 78), Freddy Adu, Jamie Watson (Jacob Peterson 78). Scoring: Brazil - Leonardo (Jonathan) 18. Brazil - Ederson 61. Brazil - Evandro 64. Shots: Brazil 18, United States 3. Shots on goal: Brazil 7, United States 2. Saves: Brazil 2, United States 3. Corner kicks: Brazil 10, United States 4. Fouls: Brazil 9, United States 15. Offside: Brazil 3, United States 3. Yellow card cautions: Brazil - Leo 56; United States - Watson 51. Referee: Martin Hansson (Sweden). Assistant referees: Henrik Andren (Sweden), Stefan Wittberg (Sweden). Attendance: 6,150 at Kupittaa Stadium in Turku, Finland. Weather: 65 degrees, mild. Top of PageUSA U17s Lose To Spain, Will Play BrazilAfter back-to-back wins over South Korea (6-1) and Sierra Leone (2-1), which qualified the U.S. for advancement in the FIFA Under-17 Men's World Cup, Coach John Ellinger's young Americans dropped a 2-0 decision to Spain.The U.S., finishing second in Group D, now advances to the knock-out-phase with a quarterfinals meeting with Brazil, winner of Group C. Ellinger chose to change his lineup, resting a number of starters, including captains Brandon Owens and Corey Ashe, as well as young Freddy Adu. Adu, who picked up two cautions (yellow cards) came on in the second half against Spain with about 25 minutes to go. Ashe, who picked up his second caution, also came on as a second-half substitute. Spain had much of the play and almost all of the offense. Spain went up 1-0 in the 12th minute, but the U.S. was still in the game until going down 2-0 in the 72nd minute. A tie, because Spain had earlier drawn 3-3 with Sierra Leone, would have won the group for the U.S. Spain outshot the U.S. 12-4 and held a 6-3 advantage in corner kicks. Spain did pick up a red card just before halftime and Silva, a midfielder, will miss his team's quarterfinal match with Portugal, which advanced with a 5-5 draw with Cameroon. That game was amazing in that Portugal completely dominated play for a 5-0 halftime lead. An own goal got Cameroon on the scoreboard in the second half, and then the African side put four goals of their own on the board for the draw. Three of those goals came in the final eight minutes. Adu entered the game with Spain having scored four goals in the other two games. Three came in the 6-1 opener over South Korea, and he had the game-winner in the 89th minutes against Sierra Leone. A marked man for opposing defenders, Adu was the victim of a vicious tackle in the 75th minute, but did not retaliate. Mexico and Costa Rica have also qualified for the quarterfinals, giving CONCACAF 3-3 in the final round of eight teams. The U.S. will play Brazil on Sunday. The game will be televised on Galavision
(Spanish cable) and will be available on Match Tracker on www.USSoccer.com.
Top of PageAdu's 89th Minute Goal Beats Sierra LeoneFreddy Adu scored a goal in the 89th minute that gave the U.S. Under-17 men's national team a thrilling 2-1 win over Sierra Leone at Lahti Stadium in Lahti, Finland, which clinched a spot in the quawrterfinals of the 2003 FIFA Under-17 World Championship. The U.S. will face Spain in their third and final game in Group D on Wednesday, August 20 at 8 p.m. local time / 1 p.m. ET.While the U.S. is assured to finish either first or second in Group D and advance into the quartefinals, it is still too early to know who they would face. The winner of Group D is scheduled to take on the second place finisher in Group C, while the second place finisher in Group D will face the winner of Group C. The teams competing in Group C are Brazil, Portugal, Yemen and Cameroon. "Sierra Leone was a handful today and I think we did well to get a win against such a strong side," said U.S. Uncer-17 Men's National Team head coach John Ellinger. "They had our backs up against the wall a lot of the time, but we were able to get the strike from Freddy at the end to make the difference. It's good to know we've advanced, but we still have to concentrate on Spain, which will be a tough test." Adu finally notched the game-winning goal just after getting hammered by the Sierra Leone defense and getting taken off the field on a stretcher. Goalkeeper Phil Marfuggi sent a goal kick the length of the field towards the head of Eddie Gaven just over the centerline. Gaven couldn't get up for the ball, and it bounced once before forward Jamie Watson got his head on the ball, directing it right instride to Adu who was joining the play just to the left of midfield. Adu shielded the last defender before dribbling left around keeper Patrick Bantamoi and slotting the ball into the open net. The strike gives Adu four goals in two games. Before Adu's goal, Marfuggi was the star of the match as he kept the U.S. equal with 10 saves. Throughout most of the match, the U.S. got out-gunned by Sierra Leone as they were able to pressure down the flanks to knock in dangerous crosses and also ripped numerous shots from outside the penalty area. Sierra Leone controlled most of the possession during the match and ended up taking 25 shots, 12 of which were on goal. The U.S. had the first chance early into the contest, but midfielder Corey Ashe's drive went over the crossbar. Gaven started the attack by winning a 50-50 ball in midfield and heading it forward to Jamie Watson. Watson pushed towards the goal on the right side of the penalty area and unselfishly laid the ball off to his left to a wide-open Ashe about 15-yards from goal. Sierra Leone was only able to sneak one by Marfuggi in the 32nd minute to go up 1-0. The U.S. continued to pressure after going down as Ashe got open a number of times down the left sideline and swerved in dangerous crosses, but most were handled well by Bantamoi. In the 42nd minute, Brandon Owens almost had his second goal in two games after towering high for a John DiRaimondo corner kick and heading it down toward the lower left corner. Bantamoi was up to the task again though as he just touched it off the line. Two minutes later, Adu looked to be taken down in the penalty area after a collecting the ball off a quick restart, but no call was made. As the U.S. bench clamored for a call, the players kept the pressure on, keeping possession in Sierra Leone's defensive half. Right before the half, the U.S. was finally awarded for its good spell of pressure when a penalty kick was awarded for a take down by Bantamoi. Adu had lost the ball near the top of the box and Gaven ran on to the loose ball and touched it past Sierra Leone's defenders. As Bantamoi came out, Gaven touched it to his left and the keeper clipped him as he went by. Guillermo Gonzalez finished the penalty, slotting it to the lower-left side as Bantamoi barely moved. In the second half, Sierra Leone continued to belt shots from all over the pitch. In the 78th minute, substitute Sheriff Suma hit the crossbar after a nice leave from Alimamy Sesay at the top of the 18-yard box. Two minutes later, Sesay almost knocked in a shot of his own off a cross from the right side by Emerson Samba. Sesay had made a nice run to the near post, but his flick attempt went wide right. Then in the 83rd minute, Marfuggi came up with his biggest save as he knocked away Metzgar's blast at the top of the box. After the initial shot, Sierra Leone continued to pepper the goal as blue shirts filled the penalty area, but they couldn't slip one past. Adu was knocked around in the second half by the Sierra Leone defense, getting tackled numerous times as he tried to push forward. Twice Adu looked to be fouled inside the penalty area, but no call was made. The forward was hit so many times, at one point he was taken off on a stretcher after a collision. In that instance, Adu was given a yellow card for diving, despite the fact it looked as though he had been clipped. In the 76th minute, Adu almost put the U.S. in front. He collected along the endline to the right of the goal in the penalty area. With a few quick stepovers, he went around Lansana Bayoh, and curled the ball past the keeper, but defender Hassan Sesay was able to clear it off the line. In the match following the U.S., Spain defeated the Korea Republic 3-2. With a win or tie vs. Spain on Wednesday the U.S. will win Group D and would play the second place team from Group C in the quarterfinals. A loss to Spain would mean a second-place finish and a match up with the Group C winner in the quarters. - U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team Game Report - Participants: U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team vs. Sierra Leone Competition: 2003 FIFA Under-17 World Championship Location: Lahti Stadium; Lahti, Finland Date: August 17, 2003 Weather: Sunny and warm; 70 degrees Scoring Summary: 1st 2nd Final United States 1 1 2 Sierra Leone 1 0 1 SLE-Alimamy Sesay (Obi Metzgar) 32nd minute USA - Guillermo Gonzalez (penalty kick) 45th USA - Freddy Adu (Jamie Watson) 89th Lineups: USA-1-Phil Marfuggi; 3-Jonathan Spector, 5-Brandon Owens, 12-Steve Curfman (2-Kyle Helton, 76), 15-Corey Ashe, 17-Daniel Szetela, 8-John DiRaimondo, 10-Guillermo Gonzalez (7-Brian Grazier, 70 ), 4-Eddie Gaven; 13-Jamie Watson, 11-Freddy Adu (16-Adrian Chevannes, 90). Subs not used: 18-Quentin Westberg, 19-Jacob Peterson, 28-Stephen Sandbo, 14-Julian Valentin, 9-Michael Harrington, 6-Chris Germani SLE-1-Patrick Bantamoi; 2-Daniel Taylor (4-Mohamed Koroma, 33), 3-Umaru Bangura, 5-Hassan Sesay, 6-Mohamed Kamara; 8-Alimamy Sesay, 10-Samuel Barlay, 11-Obi Metzger, 14-Lansana Bayouh (13-Emerson Samba, 74); 16-Ibrahim Khalil Tahini (19-Sheriff Suma, 58), 18-Kalie Jalloh. Statistical Summary: USA SLE Shots 6 12 Saves 10 4 Corner Kick 6 9 Fouls 5 18 Offside 3 1 Misconduct Summary: SLE-Lansana Boyoh (caution) 37th SLE-Obi Metzger (caution) 38th USA-Corey Ashe (caution) 73rd USA-Freddy Adu (caution) 84th SLE-Hassan Sesay (caution) 85th Group D Standings GP W D L GF GA ± Pts. USA 2 2 0 0 8 2 +6 6 Spain 2 1 1 0 6 5 +1 4 Sierra Leone 2 0 1 1 4 5 -1 1 Korea Republic 2 0 0 2 3 9 -6 0 Group D Results / Schedule Thursday, August 14 USA 6, Korea Republic 1 Sierra Leone 3, Spain 3 Sunday, August 17 USA 2, Sierra Leone 1 Spain 3, Korea Republic 2 Wednesday, August 20 Sierra Leone vs. Korea Republic 5:30 p.m local time / 10:30 a.m. ET USA vs. Spain 8 p.m. local time / 1 p.m. ET Top of PageAdu's Hat Trick Leads U.S. WinThe U.S. Under-17 men's team exploded for four second-half goals to open the U17 World Cup in Lahti, Finland with a 6-1 victory over the South Korea. Freddy Adu had a hat trick in the victory that put the U.S. on top of Group DThe Korea Republic's goal was actually an own goal against the U.S., which came in the 12th minute of play. U.S. defender accidentally Brandon Owens chested a cross into his own goal. Adu tied the game in the 18th minute, and Owens made up for his error with the game-winner in the 27th minute of the first half. Jamie Watson pushed the lead to 3-1 with a goal 10 minutes into the second half. Steve Curfman made it 4-1 20 minutes later, and Adu put the icing on the cake with two goals in the final minutes of play. The last came on a penalty kick. The win against the Korea Republic was a big first step in group play. Korea, which had beaten the U.S. 3-0 earlier this year in a tournament in South Korea, had been the group favorite. "We got behind right away with the own goal, but I think our guys did well to counter that and not let it deter them during the match," said U.S. head coach John Ellinger. "We played much better in the second half and the guys up front did an excellent job of finishing today. Now we need to get the intensity up and get ready for our next match against a tough Sierra Leone side." The U.S. held a narrow 12-10 margin in shots and 4-3 on corner kicks as play was end-to-end. Korea, playing an aggressive defensive system, caught the U.S. offsides 10 times. The U.S. will now play Sierra Leone, Sunday, August 17, at 7:55 am ET,
in their second group game. Top of PageEllinger Picks 20 Players For Finland '03A squad of 20 players is off to Europe to represent the U.S. at the Two North Carolina players were named to the squad, midfielders Michael Harrington (Greenville, NC) and Steven Curfman (Raleigh, NC), as well as UNC bound Corey Ashe, another midfielder and U17 captain, from Virginia Beach, VA. Georgia's Kyle Helton, a defender from the Concorde Fire, will play this fall at Duke University, and goalkeeper Phil Marfuggi has signed with Clemson University. Jamie Watson, one of three forwards picked for the team, will join Ashe at UNC Chapel Hill in the fall. The United States, the only nation to qualify for all 10 world Before arriving in Finland, the U-17s will stop off in England where
they will play four warm-ups in Manchester.The U.S. will face Blackburn
Rovers U-17s Aug. 2 at Blackburn, Australia's U-17s Aug. 4 at Everton,
U.S. Under-17 World Cup Roster Top of PageUSA U17s EliminatedReserve midfielder Sang Hup Lee netted a penalty kick shortly after intermission while striker Dong Hyen Yang added two late goals, powering South Korea to a 3-0 victory over the United States under-17 men to open the Busan International Youth Tournament. An estimated 35,000 fans gave frenzied support to the home team at Busan Asiad Main Stadium.The U.S. was dealt a blow in the fourth minute when starting central defender Jonathan Spector fell awkwardly on his left shoulder, fracturing his clavicle, after getting stripped by a defender. After the game, Spector was taken to the hospital for X-rays that determined he would be out for 3-6 weeks. In the USA's second tournament game striker Guillermo Gonzalez converted a penalty kick midway through the second half to allow the United States to tie Argentina 2-2. Striker Adrian Colzera scored both goals for Argentina. Midfielder Corey Ashe had the other tally for the Americans who were eliminated from contention for the tourney title. "Argentina is a great technical team and played really well today, but after a while you could see our guys starting to gain confidence and we played a lot better," U.S. coach John Ellinger said. "I'm happy with the way we played today. Hopefully against Poland we can come out and match our intensity from today and try and get a victory." The U.S. (0-1-1, 1) concludes this event against Poland on Wednesday. The U.S. erased a one-goal deficit for the second time after second-half substitute midfielder Jacob Peterson found forward Freddie Adu on the left flank. After collecting the ball, Adu made a move and was taken down just as he crossed into the penalty area. Gonzalez tied the game with the penalty kick.
Top of PageU.S. U17s To Play In KoreaUnited States Under-17 Men's National Team has accepted an invitation from the Korean Football Association and will participate in the Busan International Youth (U-17) Tournament in Busan, Korea from May 31 - June 4. The tournament, which will commemorate the one-year anniversary of the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, will serve as preparation for the U.S. before it plays in the FIFA Under-17 World Championship in Finland this August 13-30.The Korean Football Association invited all three teams from Group D at the 2002 World Cup, which included the U.S., Poland and Portugal. The U.S. and Poland accepted the invitation, but Portugal was unable to participate, leaving Argentina, who recently qualified for the U-17 World Championship, to take their place as the fourth and final team. "These games will be great for our preparation for the World Championship," said U.S. Under-17 Men's head coach John Ellinger. "Argentina and Korea both qualified for the World Championship by winning their qualifying tournaments, while Poland will be a new European opponent for us and will be very challenging." Argentina secured their first South American U-17 Championship trophy
since 1985 after finishing atop the CONMEBOL final round of qualifying
last week. The eventual champions went unbeaten during the final round,
scoring 19 goals while only conceding five. Korea also qualified for the
U-17 Championship in Finland by winning the AFC Under-17 Championship
back in September of 2002. The Koreans captured their first U-17 championship
in dramatic fashion, beating Yemen 5-3 in penalty kicks after the match
ended in a 1-1 draw. Despite a strong squad, Poland was unable to advance
to Finland after failing to get past the second round of UEFA qualifying. In Korea, Ellinger will be looking to a quartet of talented attackers to provide the majority of the team's offensive scoring threat. 2003 MLS draftees Guillermo Gonzalez (15 goals) and Eddie Gaven (11), along with fleet-footed Corey Ashe (6) and 13-year-old Freddy Adu (9) have combined to score 41 goals in the past five months. The U.S. defense, led by central defenders Jonathan Spector and Brandon Owens, has been solid, giving up just three goals in eight international matches this year, helping the team to a 5-1-2 record. Goalkeeper Phil Marfuggi has also recorded five shutouts in six international starts, amazingly allowing only one goal. The U.S. Under-17s shattered several U.S. Soccer records in 2002, setting new marks for wins in a year (40), games played (66) and shutouts (25). The Under-17s posted a 40-15-11 record in 2002, scoring more than twice as many goals as their opponents (153 goals for, 74 goals against). So far this year, the team has continued its success by compiling an overall record of 27-5-7, with 110 goals for and only 28 against. Busan, located on the southeast coast of the Korean Peninsula, is the second largest metropolis in the country with a population of four million. The city is considered the maritime gateway to Korea and ranks third in the world in volume of goods handled. Busan has hosted a variety of sporting events, including the 2002 FIFA World Cup and the 14th Asian Games, which also took place last year. U.S. U-17 MNT Roster
Top of PageU.S. U-17s Can Clinch Berth With WinThe U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team can advance to the FIFA Under-17 World Championship to be played this August in Finland with a win against Guatemala on Sunday after a 1-1 draw with El Salvador on Friday in their second match of the CONCACAF Under-17 Qualifying Tournament. The U.S. got on the board in the third minute of first half stoppage time as Eddie Gaven was taken down in the penalty area after receiving a pass from Guillermo Gonzalez. Gonzalez then converted the penalty kick for the 1-0 lead and his team-leading tenth goal in 26 international appearances. El Salvador pressured the U.S. in the first 15 minutes of the second half, finally equalizing in the 62nd minute as Josue Guardado pounced on the rebound after U.S. goalkeeper Phil Marfuggi saved a long shot from Christopher Dulce. The teams went back-and-forth throughout the second half, each attempting to take the lead. The U.S. went down to ten men in the 84th minute as midfielder Brian Grazier was cautioned for the second time in the match and dismissed. He had picked up his first caution in the 23rd minute. He'll miss Sunday's game against Guatemala as he serves his red-card suspension. The game opened up with one fewer player on the field, however, neither team was able to find the net for the winner and the score remained tied as time expired. The top team from the four-team qualifying group will advance to the 2003 FIFA Under-17 World Championship in Finland, and the second-place team will advance to a home-and-home play-off against the second-place team from CONCACAF Group B, which includes Mexico, Canada, Cuba and Costa Rica. The Group B tournament will be held in Canada from March 26-30, 2003. With a win on Sunday against Guatemala, the U.S. can clinch first place
in the Qualfying Tournament with an unmatchable seven points and qualify
directly for the World Championship. Helsinki, Tampere, Turku and Lathi
will serve as the four host cities for the 32 matches in the Finals, to
be held in Finland from August 13-30, 2003. Top of PageFreddy Adu's long-awaited debut in a United States uniform was a brilliant one, as the 13-year old scored a goal and assisted on another in his first international match on foreign soil. The U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team opened the CONCACAF Under-17 Group A Qualifying Tournament with a 3-0 win over Jamaica at Estadio Mateo Flores in Guatemala City, Guatemala. The U.S. defense pitched a shutout for the 14th time in their last 22 matches. Corey Ashe (Virginia Beach) started the scoring for the U.S. with a clinical finish in the 5th minute, and John DiRaimondo headed home a Guillermo Gonzalez cross to give the U.S. a 2-0 lead at half. Adu wrapped up the game with a brilliant solo run and finish in the 92nd minute. The U.S. defense put its mark on a game that will be best remembered for a pair of highlight film goals, as Phil Marfuggi and Co. stifled a Jamaican attack that tallied 19 goals in their six qualifying wins to get to this stage of the tournament. The U.S. only allowed eight shots and U.S. goalkeeper Marfuggi was only forced into two saves, as the U.S. ran their unbeaten streak in qualifying matches to 11 games, dating back to August 26, 1996. The U.S. next faces El Salvador on Friday at 6 p.m. local time (7 p.m. ET), before concluding play against Guatemala on Sunday at 1 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET). Tonight, Guatemala and El Salvador fought to a 2-2 draw following the U.S. match. "It's great anytime you come out of the first match with three points, " said U.S. head coach John Elllinger. "We did some things well today, and we also have some areas where we can definitely improve. But the bottom line is we knew coming here that three wins would allow us to qualify, and tonight we put ourselves one step closer to Finland." Adu set up Ashe for the game's opener, as Ashe first-timed Adu's cross home from six yards out. Adu received the ball on the left side of the penalty area, and beat one defender before getting into the area. Adu did one stepover to beat a defender and got to the endline, where he sent the ball across the face of the goal, and Ashe wasted no time in volleying it home. "I was nervous going into the game, playing my first international game that really meant something," said Adu. "But once the game got going, I just started playing and I settled into my normal game. I thought overall we played well, especially our defense. We shut them down, they didn't really create any dangerous chances." Ashe also had three other scoring chances in the first half, hitting the post once, forcing a great save out of Jamaican goalkeeper Kerr Duwayne and then just missing with another. A quick team themselves, Jamaica had no answer for Ashe's pace on the left wing. Gonzalez served up the second goal, taking a short corner kick from Adu and finding an unmarked DiRaimondo six yards from the goal. DiRaimondo rose unopposed and gave Kerr no chance to make a save on his header. Not necessarily known as a goalscorer, DiRaimondo's goal was his seventh international goal, the second-most international tallies on the U.S. team. The U.S. defense then went on lockdown, and the only shots Jamaica could manage came from deep outside the penalty area. It wasn't until injury time of the second half that Marfuggi was really tested, and his diving save on a free kick in the 92nd minute led to a U.S. goal on the other end. Marfuggi dove to his left to snag a 30-yard free kick from Seon Giveans, and then started a counterattack with a booming punt. Two Jamaican backs let the ball slide between them, and Adu raced into the penalty box all alone. Kerr, who recorded three saves in the match, did well and forced Adu wide of the goal, where he wan't able to get off a shot. Instead, the U.S. striker turned and doubled back to the center of the penalty area. Slaloming through three Jamaican defenders, Adu set himself for a shot 12 yards from goal, and he hammered the ball past a stunned Kerr. The referee blew his whistle to end the game immediately following the ensuing kick-off. Jamaica went down to 10 men in the 58th minute, after Andrew Fraser was shown his second caution of the match for persistent infringement. DiRaimondo and Adu received cautions for the U.S. team, but rules have changed governing the accumulation of cautions. In past tournaments, if a player received a caution in the first game and the second game, the player would be required to sit out the second game. However, that rule has changed and now a player is only required to miss a game if he received three cautions in three games. In the evening's second match, El Salvador scored halfway through the second half to equalize after Guatemala took a 2-1 lead into the half. - U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team Game Report - Participants: U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team vs. Jamaica Scoring Summary: USA - Corey Ashe (Freddy Adu) 5th minute. Lineups: JAM - 13-Kerr Duwayne; 5-Andrew Fraser, 12-Richard Kentish (capt), 20-Marlon
Benbow; 6-Keneil Moodie, 7-Ricardo Cousins, 21-Kemar Munroe, 9-Seon Giveans,
23-Phillip Hall (22-Bryan Bayliss, 79); 14-Steven Morrissey (4-Tristan
Cunningham,, 74), 11-Ricardo Ximinies (10-Miller Donovan, 74). Statistical Summary: Misconduct Summary:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Top of Page
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Home || Subscribe || Sports Medicine
|| Coaching Corner || Soccer
Briefs Business || What They Said || High School || Youth Soccer || Scoreboard Find A Tournament || US National || 2000 Olympics Professional || FanScene Newsletter Florida || Georgia || North Carolina || South Carolina || Tennessee || Virginia |
| Contact Information:
Southern Soccer Scene |
|
| Copyright © 2002 Souther Soccer
Scene. All Rights Reserved Questions or Comments: questions@southernsoccerscene.com Web Site Maintained by Page Magik |
