U.S. U-17 team shuts down El Salvador
The U.S. under-17 team beats El Salvador 2-0.
By BRANDON WRIGHT
Published March 26, 2007
TAMPA - Greg Garza and Tommy Meyer each scored in the first half as the U.S. under-17 team beat El Salvador 2-0 Sunday at Raymond James Stadium. It was the U-17 team's seventh shutout of 2007.
St. Petersburg's Zack MacMath started in goal and played the first half. MacMath, who played his freshman season at St. Petersburg and with the Clearwater Chargers, did not have to make a save. The game look place before the United States-Ecuador international friendly match.
FAMILIAR LOOK: Eleven players from the U.S. national team's 2006 World Cup roster were in uniform, including five - DaMarcus Beasley, Steve Cherundolo, Landon Donovan, Oguchi Onyewu and Keller - who played in all three matches in Germany.
FIRST CAP: Benny Feilhaber started and received his first cap. He's the leading cap-winner on the roster with 96 international appearances.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: Representatives of U.S. and Ecuador federations exchanged gifts after the match. The United States presented a crystal with a hologram of a player and received a statue of an Andean falcon, the national bird of Ecuador.
MAYBE IN TEXAS: Kenny Cooper, who played three years with the Clearwater Chargers, is in camp but did not dress. "It was special coming back to the area with the national team," he said. "I'm obviously hungry to play, but at the same time I understand it's a team game, and I feel honored just to be part of the experience."
DEBUTS: U.S. players wore royal blue and white pinstripe third jerseys after unveiling the uniform Wednesday. The match featured for the first time Nike's Mercurial Veloci ball that "is designed to react to the skills of the top players in the game."
AUCTION: The benefit auction Saturday night netted more than $7,500 for the Joseph Kolb Medical Assistance Fund. A white U.S. jersey signed by the national team went for $675, and Carlos Bocanegra's long sleeve signed Fulham kit went for $675.