US Takes Care of Poland

Gets First Consecutive Wins on European Soil

March 27, 2008

Goals by a pair of defenders and a swerving free kick from Eddie Lewis paced the U.S. against Poland Wednesday. Landon Donovan provided both assists on the first half goals from Carlos Bocanegra and Oguchi Onyewu as the U.S. remained unbeaten in 2008, posting a 2-0-1 record.

Eddie Lewis scored one of three US goals Wednesday. (Photo credit: Joyce Furia)

“I thought it was a great team effort tonight,” said U.S. head coach Bob Bradley. “Obviously we took advantage of set pieces, which is always a positive. More importantly, we showed the mentality and discipline necessary to win games on the road against good opponents like Poland. I thought the crowd tonight was fantastic. It was a special atmosphere, one that our players really appreciated.”

After coming off the field in Krakow, the U.S. learned their opponent for the second round of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying, as Barbados defeated Dominica 1-0 to win the first-round series 2-1 on aggregate. The U.S. hosts their first qualifier on June 15 at The Home Depot Center, with the second leg to be played either June 20 or 21 in Barbados.

Against Poland, the U.S. snatched the lead in the 12th minute off a trademark Donovan free kick, which was earned when a charging Heath Pearce was fouled on the left flank. Set up 25 yards from goal along the sideline, he swerved an in-swinger six yards in front of the near post, where Bocanegra laid more shoulder than head to the ball, directing a shot to the lower left corner. The goal marked the ninth international strike for the U.S. captain, who was named Sierra Mist Man of the Match for also having an impressive performance with his defensive duties to help earn the shutout.

Another service from Donovan, who earned his 99th cap against Poland, led to the USA doubling their advantage in the 35th minute. This time it was Onyewu who was on the end of the expert service. A corner kick delivery from the right reached the head of the 6’4” defender, who got free when defender Marcin Wasilewski slipped while jostling in the area. Onyewu made no mistake, powering home a drive from seven yards to record the fourth goal of his career, and mark the first ever time scoring in back-to-back games.

A pair of second-half substitutes combined to end all hope for Poland in the 73rd minute. A foul on Josh Wolff about 20 yards from goal set the table, leaving Lewis and Clint Dempsey standing over the ball. It would be Lewis to pull the trigger, the left-footer bending a wicked strike over the Polish wall that nestled into the lower right corner.

Poland’s best chance of the night was in the 30th minute when a poor clearance by Pearce allowed Poland to regain possession near the top of the penalty area. The ball was eventually played back to Dariusz Dudka and he unleashed a bullet on target, but Tim Howard was up to the challenge, diving to his left to push it wide of the post. With only three saves on the night, Howard picked up his 11th career shutout and 18th career victory.

U.S. Men’s National Team Game Report

Scoring:
USA – Carlos Bocanegra (Landon Donovan) 12th USA – Oguchi Onyewu (Landon Donovan) 35th USA – Eddie Lewis 73rd

Lineups:
USA: 1-Tim Howard; 6-Steve Cherundolo (17-Jonathan Spector, 72), 22-Oguchi Onyewu (23-Jay DeMerit, 63), 3-Carlos Bocanegra (Capt.), 5-Heath Pearce (20-Benny Feilhaber, 85); 10-Landon Donovan (7-Eddie Lewis, 64) 13-Ricardo Clark, 4-Michael Bradley, 8-Clint Dempsey; 11-Brian Ching (16-Josh Wolff, 63), 9-Eddie Johnson

POL: 1-Artur Boruc; 13-Marcin Wasilewski, 6-Jacek Bak, 16-Arkadiusz Radomski (19-Michal Golinski, 63), 3-Grzegorz Bronowicki; 21-Lukasz Piszczek (17-Wojciech Lobodzinski, 46), 18-Mariusz Lewandowski, 5-Dariusz Dudka, 8-Jacek Krzynowek (7-Euzebiusz Smolarek, 46); 9-Maciej Zurawski (10-Lukasz Gargula, 46), 20-Pawel Brozek (11-Radolsaw Matusiak, 46)

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