U.S. Paralympic National Team opens World Championships with 3-0 shutout of Venezuela

CHICAGO (Via U.S. Soccer) – The U.S. Paralympic National Team kicked off group play with a 3-0 win against Venezuela today at the 2015 Cerebral Palsy Football World Championships in Staffordshire, England.

The USPNT scored all three goals in the first half with U.S. captain Kevin Hensley scoring a brace in the 14th and 37th minute and propelling the Stars and Stripes to a quick 2-0 lead. Bryce Boarman added a third tally in the 43rd and goalkeeper Keith Johnson recorded his first shutout of the World Championships to help secure the USA’s first victory of the tournament.

“It’s was great to get the World Championships off to a winning start against what proved to be some fiery opposition in Venezuela,” said U.S. PNT head coach Stuart Sharp following the U.S. win. “The competition is just beginning and we still have a lot of work to do, but we have three points in the group table which is obviously important at this stage.”

The USA is one of 16 teams participating at the CPF World Championships. The PNT was drawn into Group C alongside Brazil, Scotland and Venezuela.

Next, the U.S. will face Scotland on June 19 at 2 p.m. ET (7 p.m. local), and wrap up group play on June 21 against Brazil at 12 p.m. ET (5 p.m. local). All matches will be played at the iconic St. George’s Park in Staffordshire. All matches will be streamed live on the tournament website at http://www.cp2015.com/.

“It’s now key  that we take this win and use it’s positivity energy as a launch pad for success in what will be a difficult second match against Scotland,” Sharp added.

The tournament serves as the main qualifier for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and the USA will need to secure six points during its three first games in order to ensure its ticket to next year’s event.

Following group play, the competition will continue into the second and third rounds before advancing to a placement match. There is no knockout round and all teams will advance to a final placement game. The championship game of the World Championships is set for June 28.

– U.S. Paralympic National Team Match Report –

Match: U.S. Paralympic National Team vs. Venezuela
Date: Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Competition: 2015 C.P. World Championships
Venue: St. George’s Park; Staffordshire, England
Kickoff: 11 a.m. local time
Attendance: 200
Weather: 67 degrees

Scoring Summary:       1          2          F
USA                             1          2          3
VEN                             0          0          0

USA – Kevin Hensley                 14th minute
USA – Kevin Hensley                 37
USA – Bryce Boarman               43 

Lineups: 
USA: 1-Keith Johnson 7 (23 Marthell Vasquez 5 – 52), 2-Gavin Sibayan 7 (14 – David Garza 6 – 49), 3-Bryce Boarman 5, 4-Tyler Bennett 7, 5-Jordan Weise 7, 6-Adam Ballou 7, 10-Kevin Hensley 8 (capt.) (7-Jarrent Razon 8- – 38)
Subs not used: 9–Seth Jahn 6, 11- Mason Abbiate 8, 19-Michael Moore 7
Head Coach: Stuart Sharp

VEN: 1-Frank Pineda 7, 3-Jessi Yari 7, 5 Daniel Sanchez 7, 7-Richard Mogollon 7, Asdrubal Olivares 6, 11 -Saul Torres 7, 17-Jose Quintana 5 (9 Angel Molina 6)
Subs not used: 2-Alfredo Diaz 7, 4-Marcos Cardenas 7, 10-Peter Alvarado 7, 12-Marlon Bello 7
Head Coach: Jose Luis Betancor Perez 

Stats Summary: USA / VEN
Shots: 18 / 8
Shots on Goal: 15 / 5
Saves: 2 / 5
Corner Kicks: 2 / 1
Fouls: 6 / 4
Offsides: 0 / 0

Misconduct Summary:
VEN – Saul Torres (caution)                  19th minute
USA – Adam Ballou (caution)                 25
VEN – Daniel Sanchez (caution)             49

Officials:
Referee: Jorge Barbisan
Assistant Referee 1: Minesh Gupta
Assistant Referee 2: Scott Henry
Fourth Official: Carlos Dias