U.S. U-20 MNT wins 8-0 over Aruba on Wendesday in CONCACAF Championships

KINGSTON, Jamaica (Via U.S. Soccer)  – Romain Gall scored three goals, all in the first half, and the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team defeated Aruba 8-0 in Group A play at the 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship at Independence Park.

Five other players contributed a goal apiece: Ben Spencer, Tommy Thompson, Emerson Hyndman, Bradford Jamieson IV and Amando Moreno. The U.S. built itself a 6-0 lead through the first 45 minutes.

With the victory, the USA is now 1-1-1 (4 points) in the tournament while Aruba falls to 0-3-0 (0 points). The U.S. moved into third place with one remaining Group A game to be played between Jamaica and Panama later Wednesday night.

The USA’s eight goals were the second-most in a match in this competition, trailing only a 9-0 victory against the Dominican Republic on Sept. 26, 1976, in the second round of the sixth CONCACAF Youth Tournament.

The USA had other ample chances to add to the score, but was hit with back-to-back offside calls in the 58th and 59th minutes while carrying a seven-goal cushion.

Wednesday’s game was the USA’s final match at Independence Park in Kingston. The U.S. now heads to Montego Bay for its two remaining group games against Jamaica on Jan. 18 and Trinidad & Tobago on Jan. 21. The upcoming USA-Jamaica match kicks off at 8 p.m. ET at the Montego Bay Sports Complex and will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 2 and Univision Deportes.

Goal Scoring Rundown:
USA – Romain Gall (Bradford Jamieson IV), 16th minute: Tommy Thompson’s finesse with the ball shone with an acrobatic flick to himself near the end line and he then dished to Jamieson. Jamieson crossed to the middle of the box at the penalty spot for Gall who shot right-footed, inside the right post to start off the U-20 MNT’s high-octane offensive performance. USA 1, ARU 0

USA – Ben Spencer, 18th minute: Emerson Hyndman delivered a corner kick to Conor Donovan, whose header struck the crossbar. The rebound fell to Spencer who poked the ball over the goal line. Bradford Jamieson IV shot the ball after it had crossed the line and was originally awarded the goal, but Spencer ultimately was awarded the effort. USA 2, ARU 0

USA – Romain Gall (penalty), 23rd minute: Defender Tyler Turner drew a foul from Jeanpierre Van der Linden in the box and a penalty kick was issued. Gall hesitated with his approach and shot the ball into the left side of the frame. Jean Marc Antersijn was leaning the correct direction but was unable to block the shot. USA 3, ARU 0

USA – Tommy Thompson (Emerson Hyndman), 26th minute: Hyndman whipped in a corner kick from the left side toward the top of the six-yard box. Jean Marc Antersijn and the Aruba defense could not clear the cross, leaving Thompson to drive a header interesting to the middle of the frame for his first goal of the tournament. USA 4, ARU 0

USA – Emerson Hyndman, 30th minute: Hyndman had a good individual effort, calmly pushing forward after intercepting the ball in midfield and looking at his options. Hyndman decisively eluded his defender at the edge of the box and shot left-footed inside the far right post to continue the offensive onslaught. USA 5, ARU 0

USA – Romain Gall (Emerson Hyndman), 32nd minute: Hyndman dribbled from midfield and slotted a perfect pass to lead Gall. Jean Marc Antersijn committed well off his line to try and intercept, but Gall got to the ball first, took a touch and shot into the open net for the first-half hat trick. USA 6, ARU 0

USA – Bradford Jamieson IV (Ben Spencer), 48th minute: Jamieson had some crossing options after receiving the ball from Spencer, but he elected to keep the ball and shot from a difficult angle at the right side of the box, slotting the ball near post past Jean Marc Antersijn. USA 7, ARU 0

USA – Amando Moreno, 84th minute: Aruba’s defense made a poor clearance and the USA capitalized on the chance. Bradford Jamieson IV shot left-footed from outside the box and Jean Marc Antersijn dove to his left for the save. Moreno rushed on for the rebound, shouldering off a nearby defender for the goal. USA 8, ARU 0 (FINAL)

Key Saves and Defensive Stops:
ARU – Niels Ridderstap, 5th minute: USA forward Bradford Jamieson IV had an early scoring chance with the ball in the right side of the box. He tried to get the shot off before the defense collapsed on him, but Aruba’s Ridderstap lunged in from the left and deflected Jamieson’s attempt to surrender a corner kick.

USA – Ethan Horvath, 12th minute: After being on the back foot for much of the opening 10 minutes, Aruba pulled off a scoring chance with a deep ball to a darting Duncan Homoet, who got behind the USA defense. Homoet shot toward the right side of the frame and Horvath dove to his left to deny the opportunity.

ARU – Jean Marc Antersijn, 24th minute: U.S. forward Ben Spencer was unfortunate not to see his chance find the back of the net as his volley from the left side of the box was batted away by Antersijn. Antersijn was sprawled on the ground and reached up with his arm to deflect the ball.

ARU – Jean Marc Antersijn, 60th minute: Emerson Hyndman split two Aruba defenders and shot right-footed toward the inside of the right post. However, Antersijn deflected the shot just enough that it caromed away off of the crossbar.

Additional Notes:

Romain Gall, who was the U-20 MNT’s goal scoring leader with four in 2014, now has seven goals during his U-20 tenure. Gall leads the USA with three goals to start off 2015.

U-20 MNT head coach Tab Ramos made seven starting lineup changes following the USA’s Jan. 11 game against Panama.

Ethan Horvath got the start in goal. It was his first appearance in the tournament and his second U-20 MNT international cap.

Two of the four defenders returned on the back line with John Requejo at left back and Cameron Carter-Vickers at center back. Tyler Turner got the call at right back after Shaq Moore had started in that capacity in the previous match, while Conor Donovan earned his first start at center back.

The midfield group in the USA’s 4-4-2 formation featured Tommy Thompson on the right, Gall on the left, Russell Canouse at defensive midfield and Emerson Hyndman in the attacking role. Canouse, who did not feature against Panama, wore the captain’s armband.

Ben Spencer and Bradford Jamieson IV were paired up front. Fernando Arce entered for Thompson to open the second half. Amando Moreno substituted for Spencer in the 68th minute. In the 79th minute, Paul Arriola replaced Hyndman for the USA’s final sub.

Midfielder Kellyn Acosta, who captained the first two games and injured his knee late in the game against Panama, did not dress against Aruba and was deemed unfit for Wednesday’s match. Acosta is day-to-day, and the U-20 MNT is working closely with FC Dallas to assist in his recovery process.

Aruba forward Duncan Homoet was issued two yellow cards and he will miss the team’s next match against Guatemala on Jan. 18.

– U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team Match Report –

Match: U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team vs. Aruba U-20 National Team
Date: Jan. 14, 2015
Competition: 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship (Group A)
Venue: Independence Park; Kingston, Jamaica
Kickoff: 5:30 p.m. ET
Attendance: 2,000
Weather: 86 degrees, mostly clear

Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 6 2 8
ARU 0 0 0

USA – Romain Gall (Bradford Jamieson IV) 16th minute
USA – Ben Spencer 18
USA – Romain Gall (penalty kick) 23
USA – Tommy Thompson (Emerson Hyndman) 26
USA – Emerson Hyndman 30
USA – Romain Gall (Emerson Hyndman) 32
USA – Bradford Jamieson IV (Ben Spencer) 48
USA – Amando Moreno 84

Lineups:
USA: 12-Ethan Horvath; 13-Tyler Turner, 4-Cameron Carter-Vickers, 14-Conor Donovan, 3-John Requejo; 11-Tommy Thompson (15-Fernando Arce, 46), 16-Russell Canouse (capt.), 8-Emerson Hyndman (7-Paul Arriola, 79), 9-Romain Gall, 19-Bradford Jamieson IV, 20-Ben Spencer (17-Amando Moreno, 68)
Subs Not Used: 1-Zack Steffen, 2-Shaq Moore, 5-Matt Miazga, 10-Junior Flores, 18-Lynden Gooch
Head Coach: Tab Ramos

ARU: 1-Jean Marc Antersijn; 2-Niels Ridderstap (13-Carl Geerman, 68), 3-Jefferson Vegas, 19-David Dubero, 4-Nickenson Paul; 6-Jonathan Ruiz (capt.), 10-Walter Bennett (15-Aidan Martha, 78), 8-Gregorio Van der Biezen; 9-Duncan Homoet, 12-Jean-Pierre Van der Linden (18-Kevin Tromp, 64), 11-Ricky Marte-Hodge
Subs Not Used: 14-Marcel Kock, 16-Franklin Ortiz Cabarcas, 17-Andrew Valois-Smith, 20-Brandon Malmaceda
Head Coach: Arent Bekhof

Stats Summary: USA / ARU
Shots: 33 / 4
Shots on Goal: 16 / 2
Saves: 2 / 8
Corner Kicks: 8 / 2
Fouls: 10 / 13
Offside: 6 / 0

Misconduct Summary:
ARU – Duncan Homoet (caution) 36th minute
ARU – Duncan Homoet (caution) 84
ARU – Duncan Homoet (sent off) 84

Officials:
Referee: Fernando Guerrero (MEX)
Assistant Referee 1: Juan Rangel (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Walter Lopez (HON)
Fourth Official: Armando Castro (HON)

ussoccer.com Man of the Match: Romain Gall