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Show ^ V ™ SUMMER UTAH CHRONICLE SPORTS Page 6 wmv.daUyutahchronicle.coni Monday, June 6, 2005 National treasure U.S. Soccer routs Costa Rica at Rice-Eccles Chris Bellamy Chronicle Asst. Sports Editor The last time Landon Donovan played JJI Rice-Eccles Stadium, he got off only two shots as his Los Angeles Galaxy dropped a 2-1 decision to expansion team Real Salt Lake. This time around, JSbnovan's two goals helped Team USA gain position for next summer's World •^Donovan's two goals sparked the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team to a 3-0 victory over Costa Rica in Saturday's World Cup qualifier. With the win, Team USA earned three points toward World Cup qualification, putting the team second in its qualifying group, behind only Mexico. "I think we're very content with where we are now," Donovan said. "We won our two home games and snuck a win on the road in Trinidad. But you have to remember, it's still early." Playing in front of the largest Rice-Eccles crowd since football season, Team USA's offense thoroughly dominated the opposition, out-shooting the Costa Ricans 18-10. Donovan got the United States going early, scoring an unassisted goal in just the sixth minute of play for an early lead. While the American defense limited Costa Rica to just one shot in the entire first half, the Costa Ricans nearly tied the game up late in the first period. Douglas Sequeira appeared to score on a header in the 40th minute, but the goal was waved off due to an offside violation. Costa Rica came out with more offensive firepower after the halftime break, finally putting some pressure on U.S. goalkeeper Kasey Keller. In the first five minutes of the second half, Costa Rica got three good scoring opportunities in front of the net, but Keller responded with three saves to salvage the team's one-goal lead. "We're fortunate to have one of the top three goalkeepers in the world, and he really stepped up in the second half today," Donovan said. "He came out and made at least two or three, maybe four absolutely incredible saves. You think [a shot] is in, and then he pulls out a save. He's phenomenal." Donovan kept Team USA out of any more trouble just minutes later, scoring his second goal of the afternoon in the 62nd minute of play. "The second goal just broke their backs," U.S. head coach Bruce Arena said. "Obviously, the first goal was a tremendous goal, and [he was] opportunistic on the second goal, which was a big goal at the time where our opponents got after us." Later, Brian McBride added an insurance goal as the United States went on to prevail 3-0. The victory came in front of 40,586 boisterous fans, most of whom were cheering for the United States. "As a soccer player, that's exactly where you want to play," Donovan said. "You don't want to play in front of 40,000 Costa Ricans. You want people out there cheering for you. It was phenomenal; we were very impressed." Donovan and other teammates were impressed with the Rice-Eccles crowd, and with Salt Lake City itself. "We spent a couple of days down in Provo, and I can't say I'm a fan of Provo," Donovan said. "[But Salt Lake City] was fantastic. On behalf of the entire Team USA, I want to say thank you. They were passionate, loud and they knew what was going on. They were very knowledgeable." cbellamy@ chronicle.utah.edu Costa Rica midfielder Douglas Sequeira, left, battles to get around U.S. midfielder DaMarcus Beasley Saturday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium In Salt Lake City. Joe Beatty Call SLC the new .-Soccertown, USA •Before the Real Salt Lake season opener^, many people—myself included— speculated about whether soccer could survive in a town like Salt Lake City. Two months later, it's pretty obvious that in a Darwinian soccer world, Salt Lake City is truly among the fittest. While Real continues to bring in impressive crowds for a team going through expansion growing pains, the greatest show of might came Saturday when the U.S. Men's National Team was treated to something it has rarely encountered—a home-field advantage. "I've never been in a more comfortable setting," U.S. manager Bruce Arena said after the game. "I'd love to come back here." Arena wasn't alone in his sentiment, and why would he be? While it is consistently among the top 15 teams in the world, the Nats haven't had many opportunities to play in front of home crowds that don't boo them. In its last home World Cup qualifier, the United States scheduled the match at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala. While Auburn and the University of Alabama can bring in more than 80,000 red, white and blue-blooded Americans to watch football, only 30,000 people showed up to watch the United States take on Guatemala. Ordinarily, that might not be such a bad number, but when you consider that more than half of those 30,000 people were from Guatemala, it's not so great after all. Can you imagine France playing a home Cup qualifier and the stadium being overrun by vocal Estonians? So it came as no surprise when after playing in front of 41,000 American fans, game hero Landon Donovan rivaled the thesaurus with his adjectives for how great the experience was. :^"lt was fantastic," Donovan said, "No qne wants to play in front of 40,000 Costa Ricans." -/Donovan was not alone as the U.S. team spent several minutes after the game waving in disbelief at the Yankee revelers. The United States has always had a hard time getting its fans to be as passionate as the fans of countries that consider soccer to be an event that transcends mere sport. Many Guatemalans Who witnessed the Alabama game stated that watching their countrymen in action was an emotional experience, given that for political reasons they could probably never return to their homeland. And when you consider that soccer is, at best, fourth fiddle in this country, it actually comes as a bit of a surprise that Utah put on such an impressive show Saturday night. The aftermath will be great for all sides. The Nats now have a place where they can go and feel loved. No longer are they strangers in their own home. The "major" sports should take notice sooner rather than later. NBA, college athletics and even soccer can succeed here, so there is no reason why bigleague baseball owners might not start casting their gaze on our fair valley. «*. jbeatty@ chronicle.utah.edu FC Dallas defender Chris Gbandi, left, pulls the head of Real Salt Lake midfielder Chris Brown as Brown heads for the goal Saturday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. FC Dallas defeated Real Salt Lake 2-0. The drought continues RSL suffers another shutout Joe Beatty Chronicle Sports Editor Real Salt Lake goalkeeper D.J. Countess throws the ball out to a defender to help start the offensive attack Saturday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium. On a great night for soccer, a depleted Real Salt Lake couldn't hold onto the momentum created by the U.S. Men's National Team, as the team fell to FC Dallas 2-0. With Eddie Pope, Tiger Fitzpatrick, Marlon Rojas and Dipsy Selolwane all on various national team assignments, Real had a tough time on both ends of the field. RSL (3-6-2) fell for the second straight time at home, and has yet to win this season on natural grass. While Dallas (7-1-3) was also missing some key components, FC succeeded in getting through RSL's leaky defense. In the 22nd minute, Ronnie O'Brien got free and connected off a rebound for his fifth goal of the season. It was an impressive strike for the midfielder, who was sick all week with a stomach virus. "I was just happy to be on the field," O'Brien said. RSL would get a chance right away to strike back. Following a diving save, Dallas goalkeeper Scott Garlick was left on the ground away from the goal, when RSL's Seth Trembly got the re- bound. Trembly chipped the ball over Garlick in what looked like a sure score, but was denied at the last instant by a sure-footed Dallas defender. Dallas added an insurance goal in the second half when Abe Thompson took advantage of another rebound in the 58th minute, zipping the ball past a frustrated DJ Countess. Given his depleted corps, RSL coach John Ellinger took advantage of his opportunity to play some of his younger players. This youth movement included the MLS debut of 16-year-old rookie Nikolas Besagno, who became the second-youngest player in MLS history. Not only did the youngster get his first taste of pro soccer action, he also received a bit of discipline, drawing a yellow card in the 35th minute for a reckless foul. RSL has now gone three straight games without scoring. They will have to regroup in a hurry, as they head to Los Angeles on Saturday for a showdown with the 6-2-2 Galaxy. Los Angeles drubbed RSL 3-1 early in the season at the Home Depot Center, but RSL returned the favor last month in a 2-1 upset of Landon Donovan's squad at Rice-Eccles Stadium. jbeatty@ chronicle.utaKedu |