Locals Have Hand in U20 Men's Win

Boston Native and Revs' Reserve Play Part

July 12, 2008

LAREDO, Texas – Boston native Sheanon Williams scored and Revs’ reserve midfielder Brandon Manzonelli had two assists in the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team’s 3-0 victory over Mexico on Thursday.

Brandon Manzonelli registered two assits for the U.S. (Photo credit: Joyce Furia)

Williams scored the game-winning goal in the 25th minute and forward Peri Marosevic added a brace in the first half in front of a pro-Mexican crowd of 4,000.

“Games like this are the best way to evaluate players,” said head coach Thomas Rongen. “I thought we took our chances well and that’s important. Another very positive thing for us is that we really didn’t give Mexico any good looks at the goal. I’m very happy with the way we played defensively and maybe we could be a little better with the ball, but we want to continue to well on set pieces. That was obviously one of our strengths tonight.”

Two corner kicks from Manzonelli, who was making his first appearance with the U-20s, led directly to two U.S. goals. The first, in the 25th minute, was driven in from the right, and deflected off a couple of players in front of the goal. The ball found its way to Williams’ feet, and the defender powered it in for what would prove to be the game-winner.

Less than two minutes later, hometown star Felix Garcia streaked upfield, out-pacing several Mexican defenders with the ball at his feet. Once he got into the box, he struck a low shot at a tough angle that Mexican goalkeeper Hugo Gonzalez did well to get a hand on, but the ball caromed right to Marosevic, who was making a hard run to the far post. The deflected shot went right into Marosevic’s path, and he hammered it home from close range to give the Americans a 2-0 lead.

Seconds before the halftime whistle, the U.S. put a dagger in Mexico’s chance for a comeback. Manzonelli whipped in another corner that skidded past a defender to Marosevic, who once again scored from close range. This time he slotted into the side netting of the far post to round out the scoring on the night.

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

Scoring Summary:
USA – Sheanon Williams (Brandon Manzonelli) 25th minute
USA - Peri Marosevic (Felix Garcia) 27th
USA – Peri Marosevic (Brandon Manzonelli) 45+

Lineups:
USA: 18-Brian Perk; 14-Anthony Wallace, 6-Sheanon Williams, 4-Ike Opara, 3-Richard Balchan; 8-Daniel Cruz (10-Jose Altamirano, 79), 20-Amobi Okugo, 7-Brandon Manzonelli, 12-Brek Shea (19-Eder Arreola, 79); 17-Felix Garcia (5-Zarek Valentin, 60), 9-Peri Marosevic (16-Frank Lara, 86)

MEx: 1-Hugo Gonzalez; 6-Antonio de Leon, 2-Daniel Montes, 3-Oswaldo Alanis, 18-Cesar Martinez, 16-Homero Guajardo, 17-Alberto Soto (11-Ulises Davila, 54), 15-Francisco Dorame, 8-Moises Velazco, 14-Axel Caballero (10-Americo Rodriguez, 46), 7-Arnold Rivas (13-Israel Sabdio, 86)

ADD TO YOUR SOCIAL BOOKMARKS: Blink Del.icio.us Digg
Furl Google Simpy Spurl Technorati Y! MyWeb