US Under 20s defeat Northern Ireland

Published 4/16/2008 8:15:50 PM by staff from ussoccer.com

The US Under 20 Men's National Team evened their record at the Campos Verde International Tournament with an impressive 3-0 win over Northern Ireland in Beja, Portugal. Vincenzo Bernardo, Peri Marosevic and Ellis McLoughlin each scored a goal while Alfredo Morales picked up a pair of assists in the win.

With the exception of defenders Tommy Meyer and Brek Shea, head coach Thomas Rongen used a completely different lineup than he did against the Cape Verde Islands a day ago, including goalkeeper Bill Hamid who earned the shutout with three saves. The first US goal came in the 17th minute, when Morales played a quick restart through the Northern Island defense, where Vincenzo Bernardo took two touches and gave the Americans the early lead.

Northern Ireland stayed within a goal until late in the game, when Morales, playing in his first match with any US National Team, again sprung a teammate on a through ball. This time it was Marosevic who found the end of it and went in alone on goal. The Michigan junior beat the goalkeeper and doubled the American lead in the 82nd minute.

Just five minutes later, Norwegian based midfielder Mikkel Diskerud, also playing in his first game as a US international, carried the ball along the endline and slotted it back for an onrushing Ellis McLoughlin, who cleanly finished with a one time shot.

The Americans will finish the round robin tournament against hosts Portugal on Friday.

U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team Match Report

Participants: USA vs. Northern Ireland
Competition: Campos Verde International Tournament
Location: Beja, Portugal
Date: April 16, 2008

Scoring Summary:
           1 2 Final
USA   1 2   3
NIR    0 0   0

USA   - Vincenzo Bernardo (Alfredo Morales)       17th minute
USA   - Peri Marosevic (Alfredo Morales)              82.
USA   - Ellis McLoughlin (Mikkel Diskerud)            86.

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