U.S. Appreciates the Power of Gold

An 11-year drought ended Saturday afternoon for the United States national soccer team when it defeated Costa Rica, 2-0, at the Rose Bowl to win the sixth Gold Cup.

“It’s a long time in between [titles],” said backup goalkeeper Tony Meola, the only starter from the victorious 1991 team still on the squad.

“This team has the same heart that we had in ’91. We deserved to win. We got progressively better every single game.”

A fine goal by Josh Wolff after an excellent run during which he held off the challenge of defender Luis Marin put the U.S. ahead in the 37th minute.

Midway through the second half, defender Jeff Agoos secured it with a superbly taken free kick that flew over the Costa Rican defensive wall and beyond the reach of goalkeeper Erick Lonnis.

The two-goal margin underlined the superiority of the American team on an afternoon when many--but certainly not all--fans in the crowd of 14,432 favored Costa Rica.

The U.S. team took control from the opening whistle and did not allow its opponent time to settle. It was faster to the ball, more enthusiastic in the tackle and far more creative--and therefore dangerous--on offense.

Goalkeeper Kasey Keller earned his fourth shutout in five Gold Cup matches, all of which were won by the U.S. The only time he was even remotely troubled was in the 70th minute when Wilmer Lopez fired a shot that Keller dived to his right to punch away for a corner kick.

At the other end, Lonnis was kept much busier. The U.S. went ahead when defender Frankie Hejduk found Wolff with a pass and the forward gathered speed with each stride as he headed for the goal, finally cutting the ball back beyond the reach of the advancing Lonnis and into the far corner of the net.

“Fortunately, it got to my left foot and I was able to slot it with the left foot,” said Wolff, whose goal was his first since scoring against Costa Rica in a World Cup qualifying game in Kansas City, Mo., last April.

“Coming back from an injury, you’ve always got to keep your head up and try to stay positive. So I was pretty happy to be able to contribute.”

The U.S. almost doubled its advantage in the final minute of the first half when only an alert foot save by Lonnis denied Landon Donovan a goal.

The shot came after an excellent buildup that involved Brian McBride--the tournament’s most valuable player and top goal scorer--and Wolff.

Costa Rica raised the level of its play slightly in the second half, but the game moved out of reach when Donovan was fouled by defender Reynaldo Parks and Agoos stepped up to take the resulting free kick from about 24 yards.

“As I was lining up [to take the kick], I saw the goalkeeper move toward the middle of the goal and the far post was open,” Agoos said. “It was just a nice shot from there and it went well for me.”

It had been more than six years since Agoos’ previous goal, which came against Guatemala on Jan. 21, 1996, at the Coliseum in the third-place game of the 1996 Gold Cup.

In a World Cup year, winning the championship of the North and Central American and Caribbean [CONCACAF] region is especially meaningful.

“Championships are very rare,” said Wolff, “so we’re all going to be very happy with this. Every player in the tournament made a case for himself to be on the [World Cup] team, and we’re excited just to get a championship.”

Cobi Jones, who wore the captain’s armband while appearing in his U.S.-record 150th game for the national team, said the victory was deserved.

“We went all out and we pretty much dominated and did what we needed to do, we scored the goals,” he said. “It’s a great feeling.”

The Gold Cup victory might indeed be an omen of sorts for the U.S. When the Americans won the tournament under then-coach Bora Milutinovic 11 years ago, they went on to reach the second round of the 1994 World Cup.

This team has shown that such a feat is not beyond its ability this summer in Japan and South Korea.

In the third-place game, Canada defeated South Korea, 2-1.