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 The U.S. Men's
National Team defeated Honduras 1-0 on Saturday afternoon at
University Stadium in Albuquerque, N.M., in the team's final
tune-up matches for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers on March
27 in Mexico and March 30 in Birmingham, Ala.
The match was an
historic milestone for U.S. head coach Bruce Arena, who became
the first coach in U.S. Men's National Team history to reach the
100-game plateau, improving his all-time record to 55-23-22.
Forward
Eddie Johnson continued his torrid scoring pace, tallying the
game’s only goal on the stroke of halftime to extend the USA’s
team-record unbeaten run to 16 games. Johnson has now scored
seven goals in six career games since making his debut back on
Oct. 9, 2004. For the USA, their last lost came more than a year
ago and the team is now 11-0-5 in their last 16 games.
 On the goal,
Clint Mathis of Major League Soccer’s Real Salt Lake, struck one
of his patented long-range swerving bombs from 35 yards out that
beat Honduras goalkeeper Junior Morales and careened off the
crossbar with ferocious pace. The shot rebounded into the middle
of the box where Johnson left his feet to slam home the game’s
only goal.
Johnson’s current
goal pace is unrivaled in the 90-year history of the U.S Men’s
National Team, as he is the only player to score as many six
goals in his first seven matches.
“I thought on the
whole that our team played well,” said Arena after the game.
“Our young group in the back defended well, (and) held Honduras
to one shot on goal that I saw and then the one at the end that
could have tied the game. Our team played well for 90 minutes,
and if there is a criticism of our team today it was we did not
do well with our chances. It was a game where perhaps we could
score three or four goals and win conformably. Because we didn’t
do well with our chances, we kept Honduras in the game until the
last kick.”
The overall
performance for the U.S. was a good one, with the first half
beginning slowly and the first shot in the match not being
registered until the 19th minute when Mathis and Johnson hooked
up on a nifty give-and-go that saw the FC Dallas forward slide a
shot past the right goal post.
 The first half
ended with the U.S. outshooting Honduras 9-0 and first-time
starter Joe Cannon pitching a shutout which was matched by Kevin
Hartman, who replaced him in goal for the second half. It was
Hartman who made the defensive play of the game, diving to his
left and slapping a goal bound shot out of harm’s way in the
88th minute when Honduran Wilmer Vilasquez received a through
ball that just eluded the outstretched foot of defender Chad
Marshall. The shot was one of only two in the game for Honduras,
who did not challenge the U.S. goal until the 76th minute when
Vilasquez tried to chip Hartman, who snared it to help preserve
the clean sheet.
Under Arena, the
U.S. is an amazing 29-2-3 against CONCACAF opponents and the
victory in New Mexico extended the team’s 42-month unbeaten run
against countries from this region to a staggering 31 games
heading to Mexico.
In addition to
Joe Cannon’s first career start in his second appearance,
defender Nat Borchers also made his first start after becoming
the 100th player to earn a cap for Arena in the team’s 3-0 win
over Colombia on March 9 in Fullerton, Calif. Meaning Arena has
used exactly 100 players through 100 games at the U.S. helm.
Today’s match-up
was an important one for the U.S., as they continue preparations
for two tough World Cup qualifiers in a matter of four days at
the end of March. 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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