U-17s Win First Game Under Cabrera

Beat Russia, Brazil on Deck

December 7, 2007

BRADENTON, Fla. – The U.S. Under-17 (’92) men’s soccer team won its first international game under new head coach Wilmer Cabrera, beating Russia, 2-0, Thursday in the first game of the Development Academy Nike Friendlies.

In front of a pro-American crowd, the U.S. dominated the first half of play, and in the 16th minute, Carlos Martinez gave the U.S. the lead on a booming 22-yard kick. Then, the U.S. doubled its lead early in the second half when Stefan Jerome buried a tremendous effort from outside the area in the 47th minute.

The U.S. will next face Brazil on Saturday, at 2:30 p.m. ET in their second match of the Friendlies, televised live on Fox Soccer Channel.

In the first half, Martinez, the Las Vegas, Nev., midfielder received the ball from Jerome on the left wing, cut the ball back to his right foot and cracked a 22-yard rocket that went over the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Stanislav Plokhikh and took a wicked dip to fall just under the crossbar.

In the second frame, Jerome, collecting the ball from Marlon Duran on the left wing, took a few touches to lose his defender near the corner of the penalty area and ripped a shot with his right foot into the upper right corner.

“Getting the goals in the first half and early in the second half was good for us and it gave us a lot of confidence,” Cabrera said. “This game was a good first step. We needed to get to know (the U.S. players) outside of the practice field, and this was a good start. This kind of game will show us areas in which we must work more effectively and improve.”

In the other International Bracket match on Thursday, the USA's Saturday opponent, Brazil scored six second half goals en route to a 7-2 victory vs. Turkey. Matheus Carvalho led the way for Brazil with a hat trick, scoring goals in the 46th, 54th and 71st minutes.

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