twice. McBride won the ball in the box and had Kellon Baptiste out of the goal, but twice Charles was on hand to block shots headed for the net.
The U.S. finally got on the board just moments before halftime through Beasley's header.
In the second half it was more of the same as the U.S. team continued to hold almost all of the possession and had a plethora of scoring chances. Vanney had the first decent look in the second stanza when he launched a 30-yard rocket on frame, but it was right at Kellon Baptiste.
Reyna had a chance to get on the scoresheet for himself at the 56-minute mark. Beasley made a darting run across the field before laying the ball off to Donovan, who found Reyna at the top of the box. But, his one-time effort didn't have enough juice on it to beat Grenada's 'keeper.
Beasley got his second of the match in the 70th minute. Donovan created the play with an enterprising run from the USA's defensive third. He charged up the right flank at pace and when Jovan Kirovski made a near-post run to open up space behind for Beasley, Donovan slotted a ball right into Beasley's path inside the penalty area. A simple finish with the inside of his left foot gave the U.S. the two-goal lead.
MetroStars defender Eddie Pope almost extended the lead for the U.S. in the 81st minute when he won a header jus six yards from the frame. His effort unluckily skewed just wide of the left post.
Grenada seemed happy to return home with the two-goal deficit and tried everything to kill the clock. But before they could escape trailing by only a pair, Vanney put the game out of reach and gave the U.S. a comfortable lead for the second leg.
He took on a defender near the left corner of the box, leaving his man for dead with a fake to the left and a cut back to the right. A hard shot to the back post was too much for the goalkeeper to deflect and it skipped into the far side netting to put the game out of reach. The second leg of the home-and-home aggregate series will be played at the national Cricket Ground in St. George's, Grenada. The team with the most goals over the two-game series will advance to the semifinal round of qualifying, which is scheduled to begin in mid-August.
This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
