US Under 17s fall to Spain 2-1 on last gasp goal

The US Under 17 national soccer team opened its series of games on a weeklong trip to Spain falling to the home side 2-1 on a goal in injury time.   Spain opened the scoring in the 18th minute as Borja Gonzalez Tomas gathered a ball in the box and finished nicely after a quick turn.  The lead would last into the second half when American forward Jack McInerney took a pass from Stefan Jerome and fired it into the Spain goal.

It looked as the match would finish in a draw until Spain earned a corner deep into injury time.  The corner was played into the box where a scramble ensued.  The US was unable to clear and Sergi Gomez Sola shot through the crowd for the winning goal.

Both squads are preparing to qualify for the Under 17 World Cup scheduled for late summer.  The US Under 17s will face a youth team from Real Madrid on Thursday and a select team from Rayo Majadahonda on Saturday before returning to Bradenton, Florida on the weekend. 

USA lineup:
1-Earl Edwards; 2-Jared Watts, 3-Tyler Polak, 4-Perry Kitchen, 6-Eriq Zavaleta; 5-Marlon Duran, 8-Charles Renken (16-Sebastian Lletget, 65), 10-Luis Gil (13-Joseph Gyau, 65), 11-Carlos Martinez (15-Nick Palodichuk, 46); 7-Stefan Jerome (12-Sean Davis, 89), 9-Jack McInerney

Subs not used: 14-Zachary Herold, 17-Michael Ambrose, 18-Spencer Richey
Head Coach: Wilmer Cabrera