Never saw it coming .
— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) July 1, 2017
First goal; won't be his last. Do your thing, @KellynAcosta! pic.twitter.com/F1oB4UjY2O
The narrative couldn’t have written itself better. Sporting Kansas City forward Dom Dwyer, a recently minted US citizen, on his first US national team cap and start, opened the scoring in Connecticut just 19 minutes into the team’s friendly outing vs. Ghana. Oh, yeah, it’s July 4 weekend, too. U-S-A! U-S-A!
And as the first half proceeded like the heart-warming script of a predictable sports movie, a few other names deserved shout-outs. New England Revolution utilityman Kelyn Rowe, also celebrating his first US cap, proved nimble and smart in a supporting role, before eventually being subbed off for LA Galaxy forward Gyasi Zardes at the 61st minute.
One more super-triumphant moment for the United States: FC Dallas central midfielder Kellyn Acosta and his nasty free kick at the 52nd minute, notching the Yanks’ second goal. The pure class of that finish more than made up for the fact that Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan finally bagged one at the 60th minute.
With the U.S. coming away 2-1 from the match, Bruce Arena will surely have some stellar performances to consider before deciding on his upcoming lineup in the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, when the U.S. take on Panama on July 8 in Nashville (4:30 pm ET | FOX, Univision, UDN).
Goals
- 19' -- USA -- Dom Dwyer
- 52' -- USA -- Kellyn Acosta
- 60' -- GHA -- Asamoah Gyan