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≡ U.S. MEN AND WOMEN WIN ≡
In the opening semifinal of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the U.S. men tangled with upset-minded Guatemala in very warm – 88 F – conditions in St. Louis, in front of a highly pro-Guatemalan crowd.
And the energetic Guatemalans started on offense, but the first significant foray for the U.S. turned into a goal in the fourth minute, as midfielder Luca de la Torre’s shot from the top of the box was saved by Guatemalan keeper Kenderson Navarro. But his punch rebounded right in front of the net, where forward Diego Luna stopped it, controlled it and slammed home a left-footed shot to the far side of the net for a 1-0 lead.
Luna struck again in the 15th, taking the ball above the box, using a step-over to the right to create space and then burying a right-footed rocket just inside the left post of the Guatemalan goal. 2-0.
Not surprisingly, Guatemala got busy and had multiple shots at U.S. keeper Matt Freese and striker Rubio Rubin scored in the 29th, but was called for offsides. Rubin sent another shot at the corner of the net in the 34th, but Freese saved it. Freese had to make two more saves in the 44th and 45th on Guatemalan charges in the box. The half ended with the U.S. at 52% possession, but only six shots to 15 for Guatemala.
Guatemala came out with energy in the second half, desperately seeking a goal, but the U.S. maintained good energy and had some chances as well, especially for striker Patrick Anyemang.
Finally, Guatemala’s pressure paid off with a right-footed strike from the center of the box by sub midfielder Olger Escobar, who took the ball in the box from substitute striker Arquimides Ordonoez, to close to 2-1 in the 80th.
With the pro-Guatemala crowd roaring, the U.S. defense held, and Freese saved a seeing-eye shot from the top of the box by defender Jose Morales in the 92nd. The Guatemalan pressure in the second half meant the visitors finished with 51% of possession and a 20-12 shots edge.
It’s the 13th Gold Cup final for the U.S., in the 18th edition. Mexico and Honduras followed with the second semi, in Santa Clara, California later on Wednesday. The final will be at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, on 6 July at 7 p.m. local time.
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The U.S. women, following up on two straight 4-0 wins over Ireland, faced Canada in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, and continued a strong run of first-half scoring, in warm (84 F) and humid (61%) conditions, starting just a half-hour after the men!
The U.S. was up by 2-0 in both of the Ireland games, and forward Sam Coffey put the U.S. up in the 17th on a right-footer shot from the middle of the box, off of a loose ball off of defender Avery Patterson – standing right next to her – on a dramatic free kick from beyond the box by midfield star Rose Lavelle.
Then, Claire Hutton got her first international goal in the 36th off a header from another perfect corner kick into the middle of the box from Lavelle. The half ended 2-0 – for the third straight match – with the U.S. at 62% possession and with an 8-5 lead on shots.
The U.S. continued on offense in the second half, taking the first eight shots, through the 65th minute, but no more goals. Finally, in the 89th, it was sub defender Tara McKeown with a pass to an open sub striker Yazmeen Ryan got to open space and smashed a left-footer into the net for the third goal.
U.S. keeper Claudia Dickey got the shut-out, saving Canadian sub striker Nichelle Prince’s on-line shot at 90+2. The Americans finished at 66% of possession and an impressive 22-7 shots edge, including 14-2 in the second half.
That’s five wins in a row for the women’s national team, with a combined score of 18-0!
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