The Goats own wins it for the USA (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)
TAMPA - October 10th, 2009. What's so important you ask about that day? It was the last time the United States National Team won a match. Following a last second draw with Costa Rica on October 14th which saw Goats defender Jonathan Bornstein score, the Nats went on to lose to Slovakia (1-0), Denmark (3-1), and Honduras (3-1). Not be be outdone in the realm of last second heroics, the Goats own Sacha Kljestan found the back of the net to propel the United States to a come from behind 2-1 victory over El Salvador.
"It felt good. It felt like I was doing a lot of the little things right tonight as compared to maybe the game in Honduras where maybe I wasn’t closing down fast enough or making plays in my area or being hard enough to play against. Tonight I think I did those better and that got me in the game more and got me some looks in front of the goal. Obviously, I had two good chances in the first half but I was glad I could make up for it in the end.”
Also representing the Goats on the Nats was Jonathan Bornstein. Not only did he go the full 90 in yesterdays win, but also wore the captains armband.
"It is a tremendous feeling. It was my first game leading the team out onto the field and to get a win in the same game just topped it off."
Speaking to ussoccer.com, former Goats coach, and current Nats coach Bob Bradley chimed in on the Los Alamitos native:
“I thought Jonny played very well tonight. He has very good defensive qualities. He reads the game well. He’s quick. He’s a very athletic defender even though he’s not that big. We saw him play a lot last year as a centerback for Chivas and he did quite well. We’ve now tried to make sure that he’s comfortable and that in certain situations we can consider that. We thought he played well tonight.”
On the end of the field, new Goats signee, Osael Romero suited up La Selecta (El Salvador's nickname). Mostly invisible throughout the match, Romero was subbed out at the 71st minute. With this match out of the way. he will now head to preseason camp as the Goats prepare to open the season on March 26h (barring any work stoppages) against the Colorado Rapids.
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