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American under-20s begin qualifying with draw.TUNAPUNA, Trinidad & Tobago (Wednesday, August 5, 1998)-- The United States opened CONCACAF qualifying for next year’s under-20 world championships with a 1-1 tie with Costa Rica, despite playing with just 10 men for the final 55 minutes.The U.S. and Costa Rica are both 0-0-1 in a qualifying group that includes Canada (1-0) and Trinidad & Tobago (0-1) Canada beat Trinidad 3-0 tonight. The U.S. will face Canada on Friday host Trinidad Sunday in remaining qualifying matches, both at National Stadium in Port of Spain. The U.S. opened the scoring off a corner kick in the 24th minute. Midfielder Shaun Tsakiris (Saratoga, Calif., UCLA) bent a right-side corner kick that was flicked just beyond the far post where Nick Garcia (Plano, Texas, Indiana University) collected the ball and returned a pass back across the goal mouth.Midfielder Cory Gibbs (Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Brown University) met Garica's pass with a sharp header from six yards to beat Costa Rican goalkeeper Jairo Villegas for his first tally in U-20 international competition. Although the U.S. controlled much of the play following the goal, the tempo of the match changed in the 35th minute, when Tsakiris picked up his second yellow card after a clumsy challenge. Costa Rica put more pressure on the U.S. late in the half, and nearly scored in the 39th minute, but midfielder Mario Viquez' hard 16-yard shot hit the left post and was cleared away. U.S. keeper Nick Rimando (Mont Claire, Calif., UCLA), who made four saves in the match, protected the American lead by stopping two separate Costa Rican chances late in the half. Just minutes before intermission, U.S. forward Jamar Beasley (Fort Wayne, Ind., New England Revolution) broke free from his defender and ran onto a through ball by Chris Albright (Philadelphia, University of Virginia).Beasley struck the ball hard from the top of the area, but his shot was saved by Villegas, the first of his several key saves. The U.S. created the better chances in the second half, but it was Costa Rica which tied the match in the 83d minute. Substitute Winston Parks Parks dribbled into the area on the right side and slammed a shot that beat Rimando low and to the near post. United States 1, Costa Rica 1Lineups: Costa Rica- Jairo Villegas, Allan Melendez, Alexander Castro, Gilberto Martinez, Juan Esquival (Minor Dias 75), Erick Lopez (Luis Venegas 46), Willy Olivares, Mauricio Alpizar, Mario Viquez, Esteban Santana (Winston Parks 60), Jose Ugarte. United States - Nick Rimando, Steve Cherundolo, Dan Califf (Lee Morrison 79), Carlos Bocanegra, Nick Downing, Nick Garcia, Cory Gibbs (Matt Goldsmith 59), Ryan Futagaki (Rusty Pierce 46), Shaun Tsakiris, Chris Albright, Jamar Beasley.Scoring: United States - Gibbs (Garcia) 21; Costa Rica - Parks (unassisted) 83. Shots: Costa Rica 9, United States 9. Saves: Costa Rica 5, United States 4. Corner kicks: Costa Rica 7, United States 3. Fouls: Costa Rica 21, United States 15. Yellow card cautions: United States - Califf 12, Lopez 13, Tsakiris 27, Albright 49. Red card ejection: United States Tsakiris (second yellow card) 35. Referee: Felipe Ramos (Mexico). Referee assistant: Ulric Neblett (Barbados), Merere Gongalez (Trinidad & Tobago). Attendance: 1,200 at Joao Havelange Centre of Excellence in Tunapuna, Trinidad & Tobago. Weather: Humid, 90 degrees. United States roster
Coach: Sigi Schmid (UCLA). |
