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Hello, Sydney U.S. rips Guatemala for Olympic berth
Posted: Saturday April 29, 2000 10:28 AM
HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) -- The American youngsters were having a hard time calming down before their must-win game against Guatemala. They solved the attack of nerves just the right way -- by scoring immediately, then scoring again. And again. The U.S. under-23 team routed Guatemala 4-0 Friday night to make the finals of the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament. More importantly, by winning in the semifinals, the Americans assured themselves a spot in the 2000 Olympics. "This is the game we were worried about," said John O'Brien, who erased most of those concerns in the opening minute with a rocket of a shot. "There were a lot of guys nervous in the locker room, because we've been building up to this. You get through or not in one game. It's the Olympics or not in one game." It wasn't much of a game after Josh Wolff scored in the eighth minute. Landon Donovan, the 18-year-old rising star of U.S. soccer, got the last two goals, at 22 minutes and in the dying seconds of the second half. So it's off to Sydney, where most of the same players will be on the team. All nations must use under-23 players for qualifying, then can add three overage men to their squads. "When I first started in residency with this team, I said my goal was one thing: Olympics, Olympics, Olympics," the speedster said. "When I got tired anytime, I said to myself, 'Olympics.' "Now, we've made it and if I'm selected for the final 18, it will be a dream come true. Imagine walking in the opening ceremonies next to Michael Johnson." Johnson would have been impressed with the speed at which the Americans scored. Few American soccer teams have displayed the explosiveness this group showed against Guatemala. Only 46 seconds after kickoff, on the first U.S. possession, Chris Albright headed a long free kick by Peter Vagenas toward the middle of the penalty area. O'Brien, running full speed, easily beat goalie Luis Molina. "I got a step on the defender and saw the ball bouncing back, and I know I've got 10 yards on the guy," O'Brien said. "My eyes lit up. That's the type of shot you dream about, with the ball sitting up like that." The crowd of 12,299, some of whom were still settling into their seats, erupted in noise as O'Brien did a somersault following his goal. That was just the start. After U.S. defender Ramiro Corrales made a long clearance from in front of his net during a scramble in the eighth minute, Albright took the ball in the clear. His left-footed shot was deflected by Molina, but it fell right to Wolff, who tapped it into an open net as Molina looked around for his defense. "We went with a different system," O'Brien said. "We pushed three guys up and they only had two guys on three. That opened it up." Ben Olsen, the only member of the under-23 team who also plays regularly for the main national squad set it up. He rolled the ball to his right to Wolff, whose cross into the middle was intentionally ignored by Albright, who knew Donovan was behind him. Donovan tapped it home in the 22nd minute. "We felt our best chance tonight was to score early and jump on them from the start," said U.S. coach Clive Charles about the offensive 4-3-3 lineup he used. "But systems don't win games -- players win games, and our players approached the game in a very professional manner. I'm very proud of this team." The second half was marred by fouls and five yellow-card cautions. But the Americans never let Guatemala press the attack in earning their third straight qualifying shutout. The United States joined Honduras, which defeated Mexico 5-4 in a shootout after a 0-0 tie in the opener, in Sunday's CONCACAF qualifying final, but both already have earned berths at the Olympics in September. "We'd like to go to Australia as the champions [of CONCACAF]," Albright said, waving an unlit victory cigar in his hand. "That game Sunday means a lot." Box Score
Participants: United States vs. Guatemala
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
United States 3 1 4
Guatemala 0 0 0
USA - John O'Brien (Chris Albright) 1st minute.
USA - Josh Wolff (Chris Albright) 8.
USA - Landon Donovan (Josh Wolff) 22.
USA - Landon Donovan (Conor Casey) 91+.
Lineups:
USA - 1-Adin Brown; 12-Ramiro Corrales (7-Eric Denton, 84),
4-Danny Califf, 3-Chad McCarty (capt.), 6-Steve Cherundolo;
5-John O'Brien, 14-Ben Olsen, 10-Peter Vagenas, 13-Landon Donovan;
11-Chris Albright (17-Conor Casey, 69), 16-Josh Wolff
(9-DaMarcus Beasley, 70).
GUA - 1-Luis Pedro Molina; 3-Pablo Melgar, 4-Luis Swisher,
13-Edin Lopez; 6-Uwaldo Perez, 8- Carlos Quinonez
(17-Dwight Pezzarossi, 63), 14-Francisco Gonzalez
(15-Andres Rivera, 46), 16- Gustavo Cabrera; 9-Carlos Ruiz
(capt.; 18-Julio Ariz Leiva, 87), 10-Freddy Garcia,
11-Guillermo Ramirez.
Statistical Summary:
USA GUA
Shots 27 9
Saves 3 13
Corner Kicks 7 5
Fouls 25 21
Offside 1 2
Attendance: 12,299
Weather: 60 degrees; clear, pleasant
Misconduct Summary:
GUA - Gustavo Cabrera (caution) 5th minute.
USA - Peter Vagenas (caution) 11.
GUA - Francisco Gonzalez (caution) 21.
USA - Danny Califf (caution) 23.
USA - John O'Brien (caution) 59.
GUA - Guillermo Ramirez (caution) 64.
USA - Steve Cherundolo (caution) 66.
GUA - Edin Lopez (caution) 73.
Referee: Ramesh Ramdhan
Referee Assistant #1: Peter Kelly
Referee Assistant #2: Vladimir Fernandez
4th Official: Peter Prendergast
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