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 A young and
relatively inexperienced U.S. Men's National Team controlled the
match and cruised past Colombia 3-0 in front of 7,086 fans at
Titan Stadium tonight to extend its record unbeaten streak to 15
games. The impressive run dates back to a 0-1 loss to Holland on
Feb. 18, 2004 and includes a record of 10-0-5 (including 2-0-0
in 2005).
Defender
Chad Marshall scored in his full international debut when he
headed home a cross from ussoccer.com Man of the Match Steve
Ralston in the 33rd minute, eight minutes after midfielder Pat
Noonan finished a rebound of a Ralston chip to score in his
first start for the U.S.
 Forward Clint
Mathis finished the scoring by swerving in a corner kick that
was mishandled by the Colombian ‘keeper in the 66th minute. It
was his first goal for the U.S. since January 18, 2003, a
surprising span of 17 matches.
“We beat a very
good team,” said U.S. Manager Bruce Arena. “We had a bunch of
good performances tonight. I thought Steve Ralston did a heck of
a job contributing to the first two goals. It was a tough game;
the pace of the game was fast. It was great experience for our
guys to get exposure at the international level.”
Six players –
goalkeeper Jon Busch, defenders Richie Kotschau, Chad Marshall
and Brian Mullan, and midfielders Clint Dempsey and Pat Noonan –
made their first starts for the U.S. Men, with Busch, Kotschau,
Marshall and 86th minute sub Nat Borchers earning their first
caps.
The U.S. had its
first good chance of the match in the 12th minute after a very
active Ed Johnson was fouled along the left touchline. On the
resulting free kick, Mathis swerved a ball to the far post,
where it was headed up in the air twice by Marshall before a
defender headed it down to the feet of Albright, who one-timed
it high.
The U.S.
threatened again in the 22nd minute, again coming off a foul
suffered by Johnson deep in the opposing team’s half, this time
near the right corner flag. Mathis sent his free kick to the
middle of the box, where defender Humberto Mendoza rose to head
it clear but inadvertently sent it off the right corner of the
goalpost before it was quickly cleared.
The U.S. finally
broke through in the 25th minute with a goal that was set up by
yet another dangerous Johnson run through the defense. As three
Colombian defenders converged to dispossess him, the ball
squirted into the path of an onrushing Ralston. Ralston took a
big touch and ran around two defenders to recover the ball
inside the right portion of the penalty area. With goalkeeper
Juan Henao out to cut off the angle, Ralston tried a clever chip
shot that dropped down but drew the crossbar. The rebound fell
down toward the far post, where Noonan was there to crush a
point-blank shot into the roof of an open goal.
The U.S. made it
2-0 in the 33rd minute, with Mathis serving as the catalyst with
a series of wicked free kicks and crosses. The Real Salt Lake
star had a corner kick cleared back to him, then sent in a cross
that Johnson got a foot on but had his shot through traffic
deflected over the crossbar. Mathis' second corner was cleared
out of the box to Ralston on the right side, where he whipped in
a cross that Marshall dove to head home at the near post.
“I
wasn’t able to get a goal last year. I hit a lot of posts. But
to get it today here, in my first game in front of my family in
my hometown was nice,” said the 20-year-old Marshall, who became
the eighth player since 1986 (and 39th overall in team history)
to score a goal in his first match with the U.S. MNT. “It was a
little intimidating getting my first game against Colombia
because they are a powerhouse down there. I hope that I continue
to play well in this camp and get in a couple of more games.”
Colombia came out
in the second half with four substitutes inserted to improve
their attack, and they provided solid pressure in the early
going, but the U.S. backline held firm as the speedy Mullan
raced down countless through balls and Albright repeatedly
headed long balls out of danger.
The U.S. got a
gift in the 66th minute, when on a second consecutive corner
kick, Mathis swerved a ball to the near post that was mishandled
and went under the legs of goalkeeper Juan Carlos Henao to
trickle over the goalline and make it 3-0.
Colombia picked
up their attack again in the last 12 minutes after second-half
sub Taylor Twellman was ejected in the 76th minute for a tackle
from behind, but they could not break through despite being a
man up in the match’s final moments. Busch was called on to make
only two saves in the match, posting a shutout in his first-ever
appearance.
The U.S. next
faces Honduras on March 19 live on Fox Soccer Channel and HDNet
at 4 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. MT at University Stadium in Albuquerque,
New Mexico, its first match in the Southwest city since 1994.
The match will serve as a final tune-up before two tough World
Cup qualifiers in a matter of four days. The U.S. will travel
south to face Mexico at Estadio Azteca on March 27 live on ESPN2
and Telemundo at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT, then head back to the
States to host Guatemala on March 30 live on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. ET
at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala.
About the National Soccer Hall
of Fame and Museum
 Located in
Oneonta, NY, the National Soccer Hall of Fame opened a 30,000
square foot, state-of-the-art museum in 1999. The Hall of Fame
tells the story of soccer in
America through artifacts, photographs, and video clips. The new
Hall features an extensive interactive, youth oriented Kicks
Zone where visitors have fun kicking,
heading and playing computer trivia stations and video
soccer games. The VideoWall portrays some of the greatest
moments and the greatest goals in history as well as live soccer
action with World Cup, MLS, and U.S. Soccer matches. Unique and
rare artifacts on exhibit range from the world’s oldest soccer
ball to the FIFA Women’s World Cup trophy won by the USA in
1999,
Pelé's and Mia Hamm’s uniforms, Kristine Lilly’s golden
shoes, NASL championship rings, the original MLS championship
trophy, MLS gallery - it’s all at the National Soccer Hall of
Fame. In addition to the interactive Museum, the National Soccer
Hall of Fame complex boasts the
Kicks
Zone Store,
a research library, four world-class soccer fields and
office/meeting facilities. The Hall plans to add a stadium, an
indoor soccer arena and housing facilities in the future.
The mission of
the National Soccer Hall of Fame is to celebrate the history,
honor the heroes, inspire the youth and preserve the legacy of
soccer in the United States.
The National
Soccer Hall of Fame is open every day of the year, except
Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. Admission is $9.00 for
adults, $8.00 for students, $6.50 for children 6 or older and
senior citizens. Children 5 and under are free.
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