The U.S. Under-20 Mens National Team scored five goals in the first half, including three goals in the first 10 minutes, as they dominated Trinidad & Tobago 6-1 in their opening match of Group A of the U-20 Final Round CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament this evening at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
Midfielder Eddie Gaven was magnificent from his attacking midfielder
position, leading the way with a first-half hat trick, knocking home
his three strikes in the first 25 minutes.
Paired with a
1-1 draw between Panama and Costa Rica in the earlier match, the U.S.
will have the chance to solidify their place in the 2005 FIFA World
Youth Championship with a victory in their next match against Panama on
Friday, Jan. 14 at 8 p.m. ET. The U.S. sits atop Group A with three
points.
The outcome was never in doubt when Gaven started
the rout with his first goal in the 2nd minute as he got free in the
box and headed home a short cross from Marvell Wynne. Gaven added two
more before the half, while the U.S. also getting on the board with a
penalty kick from Freddy Adu and an own goal off the head of T&T
defender Makan Hislop.
In the second half, the U.S.
continued to push forward and pepper T&T goalkeeper Hasely Holder,
finishing with a 17-9 shot advantage, but only managed to slip one more
over the goal line when Will John tapped home from a yard away in the
53rd minute.
We cant ask for much more than getting
three points in our first match, said U.S. Under-20 head coach Sigi
Schmid. We really were able to come out and take the wind out of their
sails with three quick goals in the first ten minutes, which really put
them out of the match. We havent qualified for Holland yet though and
now we have to start concentrating on Panama for Friday.
The
six goals tied the second most ever by U.S. Under-20 team in
qualifying, matching the identical 6-1 result also over Trinidad &
Tobago on Aug. 9, 1998. The USAs U-20 1998 squad was also coached by
Schmid, whose record in qualifying is now 3-0-1. The most goals ever
scored by the U.S. in a U-20 qualifying tournament was a 9-0 victory
over the Dominican Republic on Sept. 26, 1976.
Gavens hat
trick was only the second ever by a U.S. player in U-20 qualifying,
with Ricky Davis scoring three against the Dominican Republic in 1976.
Richard West of Jamaica has the most goals during CONCACAF qualifying
with four in Jamaica's 12-0 win over Antigua & Barbuda on Aug. 21,
2004.
Along with Gaven, Feilhaber was one of the best
players on the field for the U.S., getting directly involved with all
of the USAs first three goals. Playing at right midfield, Feilhaber
found Wynne wide-open on the right flank enabling him to serve in the
cross for Gavens first strike. Minutes later, it was Feilhaber who
drew the foul in the penalty area after running down a throw-in from
Wynne on the right sideline, providing the U.S. with their penalty kick
and Adus eventual goal.
Feilhaber also set up Gaven for
his second goal when he ran down a ball inside the penalty area just
before it reached the endline and cut it back across the goalmouth to
Gaven about 14 yards out. Gaven hit the perfect pass first time, calmly
placing it low past Holder.
The next two goals both came
from Trinidadians, but provided each country with a tally. In the 17th
minute, Makan Hislop tried to stop Gaven from finding the back of the
net once again, stepping in front of the midfielder on a corner kick at
the far post, but instead he accidentally directed his header into his
own net.
Six minutes later, Kevin Crooks was able to get
T&T on the board. With central defender Patrick Ianni out of the
match after being taken off the field after getting hit in the head
during a challenge in the air, Hayden Tinto got free down the right
sideline and curled in a ball to the middle of the penalty area. Shane
Calderon was able to flick it towards the back post and Crooks buried
his shot into the lower-left corner past a helpless Quentin Westberg.
The
lone goal in the second half came in the 53rd minute when Adu got free
on the left flank and sent in a dangerous cross. John was able to get a
head to it and direct it on goal, and the ball deflected off Holders
chest as he came off his line for the save and bounced over his head.
With Holder on the ground, both John and Barrett had the opportunity to
tap it into the open net, Barrett leaving it for John to finish.
Ianni
and Wynne both were taken off the field and substituted during the
first half after suffering injuries. Ianni had blurred vision, while
Wynne was undercut and suffered a contusion to his sciatic nerve. Both
players were deemed to be most likely available for Fridays game
against Panama.
In the first match, Costa Rica and Panama
were scoreless until Jose Luis Cordero scored from 10 yards out in the
54th minute. In the 66th minute, Costa Rica was reduced to 10 men when
Greivin Arce received his second yellow card and Panamas Armando Gun
buried home into the upper-left corner for the equalizer 10 minutes
later.
Scoring Summary :
USA Eddie Gaven (Marvell Wynne) 2nd minute.
USA Freddy Adu (PK) 7.
USA Eddie Gaven (Benny Feilhaber) 10.
USA Makan Hislop (Own Goal) 17.
TRI Kevin Crooks (Shane Calderon) 23.
USA Eddie Gaven (Will John) 25.
USA Will John (unassisted) 53.
Lineups:
USA: 1-Quentin Westberg; 2-Hunter Freeman, 3-Marvell
Wynne (17-Danny Szetela, 38), 4-Patrick Phelan, 5-Patrick Ianni (Capt.;
16-Tim Ward, 29); 6-Greg Dalby, 12-Will John, 15-Eddie Gaven (7-Sacha
Kljestan, 57), 8-Benny Feilhaber; 11-Freddy Adu, 9-Chad Barrett.
Subs not used: 10-Arturo Alvarez, 13-Jacob Peterson, 14-Charlie Davies, 18-Andrew Kartunen.
Head Coach: Sigi Schmid.
TRI: 1-Hasely Holder; 2-Carl Smith, 3-Radhanfah Abu Bakr, 4-Marcalle
Francois (8-Devon Maxwell, 46), 5-Karlon Murray, 6-Makan Hislop
(10-Christopher Sam, 60), 7-Shane Calderon, 9-Kendall Jagdeosingh,
13-Hayden Tinto, 16-Keon Daniel, 18-Kevin Crooks (19-Abiola Sandy, 84).
Subs not used: 11-Aklie Edwards, 12-Kezi Lara, 15-Atulla Guerra, 21-Andre Charles.
Head Coach: Anton Corneal.
Statistical Summary:
USA TRI
Shots 17 9
Shots on goal 11 4
Saves 3 5
Fouls 12 9
Corner Kicks 2 0
Offside 2 0
Misconduct Summary:
TRI Makan Hislop (caution) 29th minute.
TRI Kendall Jagdeosingh (caution) 51.
TRI Keon Daniel (caution) 77.
USA Sacha Kljestan (caution) 80.
TRI Radhanfah Abu Bakr (caution) 87.
Officials:
Referee: Jose Pineda (HON)
1st Assistant: Hector Delgadillo (MEX)
2nd Assistant: Ludwin Yat Ponce (GUA)
Fourth Official: Huge Leon Guajardo (MEX)
Chevrolet Man of the Match: Eddie Gaven