Tuesday, April 1, 2008
TAMPA, FL – Nearly half of the days in March featured action on the international level involving current and former USL players between World Cup Qualifying, Olympic Qualifying, the Algarve and Cyprus Cups and a handful of international friendlies. Here is a look back at the month of March.
WORLD CUP QUALIFYING
Other than the United States and Canada, the two most high profile nations in CONCACAF in regards to USL are Puerto Rico and Bermuda, who are comprised of a high percentage of players who also play for the USL-1 Islanders and USL-2 Hogges in league play.
In a single-game showdown against rival Dominican Republic, the Puerto Ricans were given a tough battle as they were at a scoreless stalemate through regulation March 26. It was veteran USL First Division striker/midfielder Petter Villegas of the Islanders, however, who sent Puerto Rico through to a Stage 2 meeting with Honduras on a strike in the 96th minute that would hold for the win. Nine of the starting 11 were USL players.
Tied at 1-1 after their home leg, Bermuda headed to the Cayman Islands in a series they were expected to advance from. The heavily-USL filled squad lived up to its expectations in the second fixture with a 3-1 victory on a pair of goals from Hogges midfielder Devaun DeGraff in the 19th and 23rd minutes of the match. Captain Kwame Steede provided the third after scoring just once in 17 games in USL-2 last season. Six of the 11 starters, 12 of the 18 on the roster were from the Hogges’ 2007 squad with two former USL players in Khano Smith and John Barry Nusum also among the starters.
In other Preliminary Round Qualifiers: The Brooklyn Knights’ Ricky Charles led Grenada with four goals to a stunning 10-0 victory over the US Virgin Islands March 26 in their single game series… Former USL-2 New York Freedoms player Shalrie Joseph also played the entire match for Grenada. El Salvador, led by upcoming Real Maryland Monarchs players Ronald Cerritos, Dennis Alas Morales and Juan Gomez, downed Anguilla in Washington DC March 26 in the second leg 4-0 for a 16-0 series aggregate. Cerritos was the lone starter of the three, providing the opening goal of the game, fourth of the series, in the eighth minute. Alas Morales entered at halftime... Former Charleston Battery striker Gavin Glinton was shutout in the second leg for Turks & Caicos as they fell 2-0 in their second leg March 26 and in the series 3-2 after an initial 2-1 win in the first match.
Preliminary Round Results (game scores) v. Second Round Opponent
Barbados 2 :: 1 Dominica (1-1, 1-0) v. United States
St Lucia 3 :: 2 Turks & Caicos Islands (1-2, 2-0) v. Guatemala
Bermuda 4 :: 2 Cayman Islands (1-1, 3-1) v. Trinidad & Tobago
Antigua & Barbuda 4 :: 0 Aruba (3-0, 1-0) v. Cuba
Belize 4 :: 2 St Kitts & Nevis (3-1, 1-1) v. Mexico
Bahamas (AG) 3 :: 3 British Virgin Islands (1-1, 2-2) v. Jamaica
Puerto Rico 1 :: OT :: 0 Dominican Republic v. Honduras
St Vincent & Grenadines (bye) v. Canada
Grenada 10 :: 0 US Virgin Islands v. Costa Rica
Suriname 7 :: 1 Montserrat v. Guyana
El Salvador 16 :: 0 Anguilla (12-0, 4-0) v. Panama
Netherlands Antilles 3 :: 0 Nicaragua (1-0, 2-0) v. Haiti
OLYMPIC MEN’S QUALIFYING
The United States and Canada found themselves reaching the semifinals in a head-to-head showdown for one of the two qualifying berths from CONCACAF after successful group campaigns that saw the US finish ahead of Honduras and Canada tied for second with Mexico behind Guatemala, advancing on goal differential.
The US squad was comprised of numerous players with PDL experience. Despite a tough start with a 1-1 draw against Cuba in which former Colorado Rapids U23 player Robbie Findley set up former SYL player Freddy Adu for the lone goal, the young Americans bounced back to defeat Panama two nights later 1-0 on a penalty from Adu. Having qualified based on previous results, the US and Honduras battled in a near scoreless stalemate that would be broken five minutes into stoppage on an Eddie Gaven penalty for the US.
In the Semifinal match against their North American rivals, Adu doubled his goal total to four with unassisted strikes in the 27th and 48th minutes. Former Orange County Blue Star Sacha Kljestan put the match beyond doubt in the 78th. The US would go on to fall in the final 1-0 to Honduras with several players having departed for European club commitments. Additional PDL players on the squad were Patrick Ianni (So. California), Nathan Sturgis (Orlando), Sal Zizzo (Orange County), Charlie Davies (Westchester), Dax McCarty (Orlando), Hunter Freeman (Texas), Kamani Hill (Orange County, San Fernando Valley), Jonathan Spector (Chicago) and Dominic Cervi (Michigan).
While the opening draw for the US was a disappointment, Canada’s opening 1-1 draw was the exact opposite coming against powerhouse Mexico. Former Orange County Blue Star and Bradenton Academic Will Johnson gave Canada the early lead three minutes into the match. A red card later in the game, however, left him off the lineup for their second affair, an unexpected 2-1 loss to Haiti. He came back in the third match for the opening two goals in the 45th and 46th minutes against Guatemala with Kyle Hall (West Michigan, Cape Cod) wrapping up a 5-0 win in the 93rd. Canada would finish third via penalties after a 0-0 draw against Guatemala. Other USL players on the squad included former Montreal Impact defender Andre Hainault, former Ottawa Fury defender Tyler Hemming and a pair of former Calgary Storm players Ryan Gyaki and Nikolas Ledgerwood.
ALGARVE CUP & CYPRUS CUP
The United States was again a participant of the annual Portuguese tournament, the Algarve Cup. In a tournament run in nearly the same time frame, Canada was participating in the Cyprus Cup.
Led by 10 former W-League players on the squad, the Americans dominated the Algarve Cup with a 3-0-0 group record to advance to the final, where they downed Denmark 2-1. They opened with a 4-0 win over China in which former W-Leaguers Lindsay Tarpley (New Jersey, Kalamazoo), Tobin Heath (Jersey, New Jersey), Abby Wambach (Rochester) and Carli Lloyd (New Jersey) found the back of the net. Tarpley scored her second in the next match in a 2-0 win over Italy with Heather O’Reilly (New Jersey) providing the other strike in the win. O’Reilly and Wambach added their second goals in the tournament in the final group win as the US downed Norway 4-0. Wambach would finish as the top US scorer with her third serving as the game and tournament winner against Denmark.
Also at the Algarve Cup were a pair of American sisters in Kim and Lissette Brandao. The duo helped lead Portugal to one of its best outings as host of the tournament. Playing in Group C, which is not eligible for the top playoff games, the 47th-ranked Portuguese squad upset 31st-ranked Republic of Ireland 2-0 in the opener and proceeded to stun 27th-ranked Poland 3-1. Iceland, ranked 19, spoiled a sweep with a 3-0 victory to win the group, but Portugal posted another surprise with a 1-1 draw against 14th-ranked China in the 9th Place match, falling on the tiebreaker penalties.
Comprised of a squad with every player but two having W-League experience, the Canadians headed to Cyprus as part of a five-game European venture. They opened with a 2-1 victory over Russia in which Kara Lang (Vancouver) scored the game-winner. The Canucks then blanked Japan, minus former W-League star Homare Sawa, by a 3-0 scoreline in which Christine Sinclair (Vancouver) tallied all three. The two wins sent Canada to the final, where they built a three-goal lead against the US U20’s en route to a 3-2 win. Sinclair scored the opener and what proved to be the game-winner.
Two days later, the Canadians played France to a 0-0 draw in a friendly. They previously lost 2-0 in a friendly against Scotland during the course of the Cyprus Cup.
INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES
Seven players who previously suited up in USL action took the field in Krakow, Poland March 26 for a friendly with the US coming away with a 3-0 victory. Tim Howard (North Jersey) led the side with the shutout in goal.
Canada also was in Europe, but a squad with eight USL alum were on the wrong side of a 2-0 defeat against Estonia in Tallinn.
Closer to home, Caribbean powers Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago squared off in Kingston, Jamaica. Former Carolina Dynamo players Darryl Roberts, Randi Patterson (Charleston) and Osei Telesford led T & T to a 2-2 draw. Former US Pro-40 player Tyrone Marshall helped build a 2-0 lead for the home side 40 minutes into the match. Telesford came off the bench to cut the deficit in half at the 75 minute mark on an assist from Roberts.
COMING UP: OLYMPIC WOMEN’S QUALIFYING
The CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying tournament gets under way April 2 when T & T squares off against Canada. The US Women open against Jamaica April 4. On April 6 the US plays Mexico and Canada faces Costa Rica to determine who advances to the semifinals. Both sides announced their rosters for the tournament, which include numerous W-Leaguers. All but one player on the Canadian roster are current or former W-League players and 11 on the US squad are W-Leaguers.
