How did the USA Soccer team clinch a spot in the World Cup playoffs?
TIJUANA, Mexico (April 25, 2009) – The U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team defeated Honduras 3-0 to take the top place in Group A of the CONCACAF U-17 Championship. The win gave Wilmer Cabrera’s team a perfect three wins from three games. Nicholas Palodichuck, who had not played in either of the first two games, scored the first and third goals for the U.S. Jack McInerney added a goal in the 28th minute, bringing his total to a tournament-high five goals in three games. With a berth to the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Nigeria locked up on Thursday, Cabrera was able to change his lineup and six new starters took the field against Honduras. With Dustin Corea and Emilio Orozco both entering the game at the start of the second half, all 20 players on the U.S. roster saw action during the group phase. “It was a pretty match,” said Cabrera. “We had six players play who were not starters and with the other five players, we confronted a Honduran team who knew they had qualified already and that p
COLUMBUS — The last time the Columbus Crew played host to a playoff game, President George Bush and challenger John Kerry were in the final 48 hours of campaigning before the national election. If the Crew can hold onto their lead in the Eastern Conference, the next one will come after a new president has been chosen. Yes, it’s been awhile since Columbus has seen postseason action but happy days are here again after the league did the computations and made it official Monday: the Crew can finish no worse than eighth and have clinched a playoff berth. “It feels good. It’s long overdue for us — long overdue for the fans,” defender Chad Marshall. He was a rookie in 2004 when Columbus used a league-record 18-game unbeaten streak to capture its first Supporters’ Shield, awarded to the team with the most points. After missing the playoffs the next three seasons, the Crew have a five-point lead ahead of New England in the chase for the Shield with five games left, going into Saturday’s matc
The U.S. clinched a berth to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa with a thrilling 3-2 victory against Honduras in San Pedro Sula. After a scoreless first half, both teams turned up their attack to score five second half goals, with a brace from Conor Casey and a game-winning free kick from Landon Donovan paving the way for the Americans. Sources: http://www.ussoccer.com/Teams/US-Men.
