BRADENTON, Fla. - The San Jose Earthquakes stormed past the United States Under-17 national team 6-2 at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., behind four goals from rookie Antouman Jallow. After taking a 2-1 lead at halftime, Jallow netted four goals in the second half to give San Jose the decisive victory. Wade Barrett and Alejandro Moreno scored first half goals for the Quakes.
Barrett opened the scoring 11 minutes into the match after a good combination on the left wing. Kevin Goldthwaite found Ronald Cerritos with a pass and Cerritos flicked the ball through to Barrett, who broke into the box. Barrett then finished with his right foot.
The U.S. Under-17s responded soon after as Michael Farfan scored on a deep shot to the far post. Farfan beat Craig Waibel on the outside and drove a shot over Quakes goalkeeper Robbie Fulton.
Eight minutes before the halftime break, Moreno helped the Quakes regain the lead with a goal off a Cerritos corner kick. Cerritos curled a corner to Craig Waibel at the near post and he headed the ball to the back post, where Moreno chested the ball over the line for his first goal of the preseason.
After halftime Jallow pushed San Jose's lead to 3-1 with a nifty finish after a through ball by Roger Levesque. Levesque stole a clearance and then fed Jallow who fought off a defender and slipped a shot to the far post.
The U.S. responded with a goal just a minute later, but Jallow struck again after a strong build-up by the Quakes in the 58th minute. "Boomer" Arbelaez received the ball in the center of the field and moved it out to Chris Wondolowski on the right wing. Wondolowski moved past his defender and curled a low cross into the box for Jallow, who tapped it into the empty net for a 4-2 advantage.
Goldthwaite set up Jallow's third goal with a corner kick to give San Jose a commanding 5-2 lead. The rookie from Notre Dame whipped a cross in from the corner that slipped through a crowd to Jallow, who finished with a header into an empty net.
Jallow saved his best for last as he picked up a nice flick by Levesque and crushed a left-footed volley over the goalkeeper's outstretched hand and into the upper corner in the 66th minute.
Earthquakes defenders Chris Aloisi and Brett Rodriguez played the full match in central defense for the U.S., which was short on numbers.
The Quakes now possess a 2-2-2 record in the preseason. They will train in Bradenton on Wednesday morning, before returning to the Bay Area on Thursday, Feb. 24 to continue training camp.
Quotes:
Dominic Kinnear, on game:
"Overall, it was a good performance for us. We got time for a lot of different guys and everybody contributed. It was nice to get one more game in before heading back to San Jose."
Antouman Jallow, on goals:
"I got set up very well on every goal, so all I had to do was finish. Roger (Levesque) set me up twice with perfect passes and Chris (Wondolowski) also made it easy for me. I just got in the right spots and the ball was there."
Jallow, on contributing:
"As a forward, you always want to score goals. That is how you contribute, so it feels good to help the team out today. I think that the team played well and created a lot of good chances and I was the beneficiary of that good play."
Ryan Cochrane, on game:
"I am glad that we finished the trip on a good note. It was nice to play another game before going home. The more games we play in the preseason, the more prepared we will be when the regular season rolls around."
Alejandro Moreno, on scoring goals:
"It is good for the team to get in a rhythm like that where everyone is finishing their chances. We knocked the ball around well, so we are happy with that. As long as we are passing the ball well and creating chances, I think that we consider it a successful preseason game."
Lineup
SJ
- GK Robbie Fulton, D Craig Waibel (Chris Wondolowski, 41), D Eddie Robinson, D Ryan Cochrane, D Kevin Goldthaite, M Wes Hart, M Danny O'Rourke (Victor "Boomer" Arbelaez, 41), M Ricardo Clark (Tighe Dombrowski, 41), M Wade Barrett (Orlando Ramirez, 41), F Ronald Cerritos (Antouman Jallow, 41), F Alejandro Moreno (Roger Levesque, 41).
U.S.
- N/A
Scoring Summary
SJ - Barrett (Cerritos), 11; U.S. - Farfan, 19; Moreno (Waibel), 32; SJ - Jallow (Levesque), 51; U.S. - N/A, 53; SJ - Jallow (Wondolowski), 58; SJ - Jallow (Goldthwaite), 65; SJ - Jallow (Levesque), 66.
