Soccer School
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| DaMarcus Beasley takes a shot during the second half of the qualifying game on Sunday, June 13. The United States defeated Grenada 3-0 at Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, in the first leg of their second round World Cup qualifying series. (© Andy Mead/Icon SMI) |
Monday, June 14, 2004—For one hot and humid Sunday afternoon, Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, turned into one giant classroom. The teachers and students were soccer players in the U.S. 3-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Grenada.
The lessons were varied:
Lesson 1: Don't take anything for granted.
Entering the match, the United States was the heavy favorite. The Americans were ranked ninth in the world, while Grenada, located in the Caribbean, was rated No. 138.
Yet, the Grenadans made life difficult for the Americans when the hosts moved the ball into their penalty area, sometimes having all 11 players back defending.
That resulted in pinball soccer. The ball bounded off players before they could get close to the net. And when they were on target, goalkeeper Kellon Baptiste made a save (he had 11 throughout the game) or a defender booted the ball away.
"Give them credit. They played with a lot of heart and emotion," said U.S. coach Bruce Arena. "They were difficult to break down."
But the U.S. kept plugging away from its end and its persistence paid off, which leads to the second lesson.
Lesson 2: Don't give up.
Both teams were steadfast in their styles. Grenada tried to play its stifling penalty area defense the entire game and it almost resulted in a 1-0 loss. The loss would have been considered a big upset against a team that has qualified for four consecutive World Cups.
The U.S. continued to attack for the entire match and dominated it. The hosts outshot Grenada, 34-6, and enjoyed a 17-1 advantage in corner kicks.
The relentless Americans scored a goal 10 seconds into stoppage time at the end of the opening half. They also scored two minutes into stoppage at the end of the game. Stoppage time, also known as added or injury time, is the time added by a referee when he or she feels time has been wasted by both teams, on substitutions or injuries. No other sport has such a unique time system, because the fans and players do not exactly know when the game is going to end.
"We knew the first goal would be tough, whether it was in the first minute or the 45th minute," said midfielder DaMarcus Beasley, who scored twice. "After we got that first one, the second and third were going to come. We didn't panic."
Lesson 3: There is a first time for everything.
Beasley scored two goals in one international game for the first time in his career. Greg Vanney's score was the first of his international career after 29 appearances.
They were all big goals.
"It was a little sign of relief," said Vanney. "There's a little bit of comfort being at 3-0 instead of 2-0."
A reporter asked Beasley if he had become a goalscorer.
"Oh, no, no, no," he replied with a smile. "The goalscorers are Landon (Donovan) and Brian (McBride). My job is to get the ball to them."
Michael Lewis, who covers soccer for the New York Daily News, writes about the sport for Scholastic.com.
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