Suddenly, U.S. Finds Its Footing : Soccer: Officials at the Festival are encouraged by success of American teams.
U.S. soccer fans rejoiced Monday after learning that the United States upset Great Britain, 1-0, in the first round of the World University Games at Scunthorpe, England.
Their enthusiasm quickly waned when they could not find any details about the historic victory. No stories about the contest moved over the U.S. wire services and even London newspapers provided sketchy details.
The London Times’ Tuesday edition contained a short paragraph at the bottom of a lengthy roundup, noting: “Britain had a gloomy day. The football team lost, 1-0, to the United States and must beat Ireland to stand a chance of reaching the quarterfinals.”
Although the victory did not gain much attention, it is another sign of the United States’ continued improvement on the international level.
The team that the United States defeated Monday was composed of college-age players from England, Scotland and Wales. The United States has not had much success at any level against teams from those countries, particularly England.
The 1950 World Cup was the last time the U.S. national team defeated England, a 1-0 upset. In four other meetings between the national teams, the U.S. had been outscored, 29-4.
With 15 minutes remaining in Monday’s 90-minute match, Jeff Baicher of Santa Clara University scored on a pass from UCLA’s Joe Max Moore of Irvine.
The United States downed a combined Ireland-Northern Ireland team, 2-0, in an earlier match, meaning that a victory over Iran today would earn the team a spot in the semifinals.
“The victory over Britain shows the we’re moving forward in our game,” said John Polis, a spokesman for the U.S. Soccer Federation. “It is not the same as beating (England’s) national team, but it is an important victory nonetheless. We’re getting more and more of these types of wins all the time.”
The U.S. team at the World University Games is made up of many of the nation’s top college players, but it is not the only national team enjoying success.
The U.S. national team, which includes many of the country’s top professional players, won five consecutive games--its longest winning streak since 1885--while winning the Gold Cup of the Confederation of North and Central American and Caribbean Assn. Football (CONCACAF) earlier this month at the Rose Bowl and Coliseum. The team beat Mexico, 2-0, in the semifinals for only the third time since 1934, and defeated Honduras, 4-3, on penalty kicks in overtime.
The U.S. Olympic team, featuring players under 23, is faring well in a round-robin Olympic qualifying tournament against Haiti and Panama. The United States defeated Haiti, 8-0, and tied Panama, 1-1, and will play each team one more time. Many of the U.S. Olympians were on an under-20 team that finished fourth in 1989 in the World Youth Championships.
While many of the country’s top players are busy with international competition, the remaining top college and high school players are in Los Angeles this week for the Olympic Festival. In town to evaluate the group is Ralph Perez, an assistant coach for the national team.
“We’ve identified 72 of the country’s elite players and assembled them here for the Olympic Festival,” said Perez, who also coaches at Old Dominion University. “We feel that some of these guys have a chance to make the Olympic team. Most of our top national players participated in this event, so it is vital that we are here looking and evaluating everyone. Here lies the future in our sport.”
Hoping to make an impression is UCLA midfielder Jorge Salcedo. A sophomore from Cerritos, he made a name for himself last fall when he scored in the Bruins’ 1-0 victory over Rutgers in the NCAA championship game at Tampa, Fla. Since then, he has been busy traveling.
Salcedo spent a week in France in May playing with the U.S. under-20 team, which won five of seven games in the tournament. He was then invited to work out with the Olympic team last month at Colorado Springs.
A member of the Festival’s West team, Salcedo is hoping a strong showing will result in an invitation to the Pan American Games next month at Havana.
“It’s a long process to the ’92 Olympics,” Salcedo said. “There are players here who can still make that team. I hope that I am one of them.”
Also hoping to receive an invitation to the Pan-Am Games is UCLA’s Sean Henderson, younger brother of national and Olympic team member Chris Henderson. Sean, a midfielder, scored the goal in the West’s 1-0 victory over the South Sunday.
“Soccer is finally taking off in this country, and that is evident by the quality of competition here at the Festival,” Henderson said. “If someone makes an impression here, he’s done it in some good company.”
