U20 Men's National Team takes 2-1 victory over Guatemala

Boca Raton, FL – The U.S. U20 Men’s National team finished up its four-day training camp in Sunrise, Fla. with a 2-1 triumph over Guatemala at the Florida Atlantic University Stadium in front of 1,600 Chapine fans here Wednesday. Anthony Wallace scored a late goal to provide the margin of victory.

U.S. coach Thomas Rongen said the match will prove to be an important exercise for the team in more ways than one. "I am very excited to come away with the win because we played a very intense match tonight," Rongen said. "I couldn't have asked for a better environment for our boys to play in. The crowd, the stadium, the weather, it all fell into place for us tonight to help us pull out the win over a tough and physical team. I think that it was very important for us to play a team such as this because it really tests the character of the team, when they can come from behind to pull out a win," he added. I am also very impressed with the way that Guatemala played because they are a very skilled team and difficult to break down tactically."

The U.S. matched up evenly with their opponents in the opening minutes, as the teams saw equal scoring chances. However, it was the quick counter-attack by the Chapines in the 20th minute that broke the deadlock. Action started as a Freddy Adu corner kick fell to the feet of Tim Ward in the box, who tried to drill a shot past Guatemalan keeper Carlos Reyes. The bullet was cleared off the line by defender Patrick Howell, falling to the feet of Adu, who had come back to his central midfielder position. However, Adu was not able to control the deflection and lost the ball to Edward De La Roca, who sped down the field, going one-on-one with U.S. defender Bryan Arguez, before threading a pass into the bottom left corner of the net, passed a diving Nicholas Skverer for a 1-0 Guatemala lead.

The U.S. had several chances throughout the rest of the first half to eq ualize, but were unable to squeeze anything past Guatemalan keeper Reyes, finishing the first half trailing 1-0. The pressure started right as the whistle blew, as the U.S. flew down the field getting a quick free kick right outside the box. As Guatemala tried to get organized, Adu drilled a shot past the four-man wall that was ear-marked for the top left corner. However, the shot was headed off the line, giving the Chapines a chance to regroup.

The scoring drought for the U.S. ended in the 63rd minute as Adu notched a goal by heading a pass from teammate Quavas Kirk past a diving Reyes. The assist by Kirk marked the first of his international career with the U20 team. The U.S. continued to pressure the Chapines, and had one of their best chances of the second half in the 75th minute as an Adu free kick found the chest of Dax McCarty (Winter Park, Fla.) who tried to volley a pass into the upper right corner of the net. However the pass was deflected out of play for a corner kick.

The third and final goal of the match came in the 86th minute for the U.S. as defender/midfielder Anthony Wallace (St. Petersburg, Fla.) ran down the left-side of the pitch with one defender trailing. Deciding to test the keeper’s abilities, Wallace drilled a shot at Reyes, who was unable to make the save as the shot deflected off his glove into the bottom right corner of the net. The goal was Wallace’s first goal as a member of the U20 National team, as he was making his second international start of his career.

Wallace was ecstatic about his match-winning goal. "I was so excited to see that ball roll into the back of the net because I was not expecting it to keep going," Wallace said. "I had a good feeling and had a good run down the pitch and just took a chance."

The U.S. was able to hold off the Chapines, ending the battle with a 2-1 advantage in their final game of their preparations for the 2007 CONCACAF Under-20 Final Round Qualifying Tournament, which is scheduled to start in January. The U.S. outshot Guatemala 7-6, while the Chapines committed 21 fouls to the U.S.’s 11. Tim Ward was perhaps the man of the match for the U.S., reading the game well, getting involved in the attack and showing a good touch on the ball.

Other notes:
- Of the 19-player squad, the U.S. U-20 National Team had 12 professionals invited to the camp, including three overseas players.
- Midfielder Freddy Adu is leaving for Manchester, England this Sa turday to take part in a two-week training camp with Manchester United.
- Boca Raton, Fla. native, forward Josmer Altidore did not play against Guatemala due to a broken thumb he suffered during the first match of the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series against D.C. United. Altidore suffered the injury when he put his hand down on the Meadowlands turf to brace himself after getting knocked to the ground.