We'll get to the main event – a 1-1 draw that reflected the run of play – but first fire up that online banking app and make sure you've got a healthy balance in the old checking account.
Landon Donovan's given U.S. Soccer many things, but we can all thank former Galaxy teammate Mike Magee for the ubiquitous #LegenD hashtag. Now pay up.
1) A LegenD, now and forever
Cap No. 157 will remembered for a miss, a post that refused to cooperate with a fairy-tale narrative, but that didn't make Landon Donovan's final moments in red, white and blue any less special.
After weeks spent taking a fine-toothed comb to Donovan's legacy, breaking down his estranged relationship with Jurgen Klinsmann and speculating about what life after soccer holds, it finally came time to lace them up, hand out the commemorative plaque and framed jersey, hoist the tifo and take the field for one last time.
With Donovan guaranteed at least a final half-hour for the Nats, Klinsmann went with a 4-4-2 that set up for an easy switch once those 30 minutes (in the end, 41 minutes) were up. Donovan out, Joe Corona in to recreate the 4-3-3 trotted out against the Czech Republic.
But before the future of the USMNT could take the reins, the past reminded them just how high the bar will be set.
Donovan may not have run Ecuador into the ground – after all, he has a potentially Supporters' Shield-deciding game on Sunday in Dallas – but he helped create Mix Diskerud's opener with a trademark jaunt and cross down the left flank, nearly scored himself (twice) and once again reminded a nation of soccer fans, if not his coach, that he certainly could have done a job in Brazil.
It was solid, if not necessarily spectacular. And then, five minutes before Donovan was originally slated to come off, a Derek Jeter-esque ending presented itself.
Jozy Altidore, one of only a few faces on this roster with experience in the USMNT trenches alongside Donovan, posted up just outside the box and drew three defenders, and the man of the hour did what he's done for the better part of 15 years. Donovan ghosted into the open space, the kind of movement that helped him hit 50-plus goals and assists for the US and nearly 300 combined in MLS, and Altidore backheeled the ball into his path.
Goal. Had to be, the capacity crowd ready to explode.
Only the post didn't get the memo. The ball crashed off the woodwork, and Donovan lay on the grass, hands on his head. Not this time. Not in the 38th minute, either, when Altidore eschewed his own goalscoring opportunity to tee up Donovan for a shot that trickled wide.
Unfortunate? Sure, but perhaps fate had other thoughts.
Three minutes later, an era officially ended. The fourth official's board called Donovan off to a standing ovation, embraces from his teammates and even a brief but cordial moment with Klinsmann.
Was it perfect? No, but these moments rarely are – I can't be the only one who wished this could have come post-World Cup on a field in SoCal with DaMarcus Beasley, Tim Howard and the rest of the old guard flanking LD – and it was certainly necessary, a farewell U.S. Soccer owed its prodigal son.
2) No slowing the Yedlin growth curve
The US goal may have originated from a buccaneering run down the left sideline from Donovan, but any consistent danger the USMNT created on Friday night came via the right channel.
It was no surprise, then, that DeAndre Yedlin, who actually got the assist on Diskerud's goal after setting up the one-time finish, is starting to look the part as a game-changing attacker at both right back and, in this match, right midfield.
Here are the USMNT's key passes on the night, almost all of which came in the aforementioned right channel:
I may be filling in for Matt Doyle tonight, but that doesn't mean the Armchair Analyst can stay away. Here's what he had to say about all this.
You can see much of the damage is coming from the right channel, which to me speaks to 1) Yedlin's continued improvement as a set-up man, and 2) the understanding that he's not yet truly goal-dangerous when he plays midfield.
But his improvement curve has been really impressive. That cross to Bobby Wood was fantastic, and he really reminds me of "in his absolute prime" Cobi Jones.
That, in case you were wondering, bodes very well for the Yedlin and the USMNT.
3) There's still growing up to do
God bless Brad Guzan and some wayward Ecuadorian finishing, because this could've been worse than the 1-1 scoreline showed. (Not to mention it appeared the assistant referee got flag-happy on Joao Plata's disallowed goal from my vantage point)
There were certainly positives at Rentschler Field, but this wasn't a perfect performance by any means, especially when it came to a few hiccups in the back that showed vulnerabilities that a better side would have exposed. Klinsmann may want to see his team push the issue with fullbacks streaming forward in support of the attack, but run-and-shoot is liable to turn out poorly without some defensive maturation.
John Brooks, who's got plenty to prove while he navigates a rough patch with Hertha Berlin, was caught unaware on a few simple chipped balls over the top, scoring opportunities gifted far too cheaply to a wasteful Ecuador side.
At right back, Timothy Chandler showed flashes of elite athleticism and combined well with Yedlin. He also showed a tendency to leave Michael Orozco completely isolated in one-v-one situations, which the Puebla man dealt with well...but are still cause for concern.
For the most part, those blushes went obscured. And they might against a scuffling Honduras side as well. But they won't against the Germanys and Belgiums of the world, and that's who the USMNT are ultimately trying to catch up with.
