By FRANCO PANIZO
The passing of Dennis Marshall didn't only affect Costa Rican players. It also affected Marshall's teammates at Aalborg BK, and one American paid tribute to the late defender this weekend.
Chris Rolfe honored his former teammate with the game-winning goal in Aalborg's home-opener, a 2-1 win versus AGF Aarhus. Rolfe, who was substituted following his goal, netted on a beautiful blast from about 23 yards out after controlling the ball with his chest. He celebrated the finish by pointing at the sky to commemorate Marshall.
Joe Corona, a Los Angeles-born winger who played a larged part in helping Club Tijuana earn promotion, also found the back of the net. In his debut in Mexico's top division, Corona netted the equalizer in a 2-1 loss to Morelia.
DaMarcus Beasley and Herculez Gomez didn't find the back of the net, but they did make their debuts with their respective clubs. Beasley started and played 88 minutes in a Puebla victory while Gomez got the nod and went the distance in Estudiantes Tecos' 2-1 loss.
Here is how the Americans Abroad fared this weekend:
SCOTLAND
- Maurice Edu started and played 90 minutes in Rangers FC's 1-1 draw vs. Heart of Midlothian on Saturday.
- Dominic Cervi dressed but did not play in Celtic FC's 2-0 win vs. Hibernian on Sunday.
GERMANY
Bundesliga
- Jermaine Jones did not dress in Schalke 04's 4-3 penalty kick win after a 0-0 draw vs. Borussia Dortmund in the DFL-Supercup on Saturday.
Bundesliga 2
- Ricardo Clark and Eintracht Frankfurt play St Pauli on Monday.
- Luis Robles dressed but did not play in Karlsruher SC's 2-1 loss vs. TSV 1860 Munich on Saturday.
- Edson Buddle started and played 84 minutes in FC Ingolstadt 04's 0-0 draw vs. FC Erzgebirge Aue on Friday.
- Bobby Wood did not dress in TSV 1860 Munich's 2-1 win vs. Karlsruher SC on Saturday.
- Matt Taylor came off the bench, played 45 minutes and scored a GOAL in SC Paderborn 07's 1-1 draw vs. Fortuna Dusseldorf on Sunday.
DENMARK
- Michael Parkhurst started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in FC Nordsjaelland's 1-1 draw vs. Horsens on Sunday.
- Marcus Tracy did not dress in Aalborg BK's 2-1 win vs. AGF Aarhus on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Chris Rolfe started, played 61 minutes and scored a GOAL for Aalborg BK. (You can see the goal at the 3:03 mark.)
- Clarence Goodson started and played 90 minutes in Brondby IF's 1-0 win vs. Silkeborg on Saturday.
SWEDEN
- Alejandro Bedoya did not dress in Orebro SK's 2-0 win vs. Norrkoping on Sunday.
- Ryan Miller and Halmstads BK play IFK on Monday.
- Gale Agbossoumonde and Djurgardens IF play Elfsborg on Monday.
- Samuel Petrone came off the bench and played 15 minutes in Mjallby AIF's 5-1 win vs. Gefle IF on Saturday.
NORWAY
- Mix Diskerud and Stabaek IF's game vs. Aalesunds on Sunday was postponed due to recent events in the country.
- Josh Gatt and Molde FK's game vs. Start on Friday was postponed due to recent events in the country.
- Sean Cunningham and Molde FK's game vs. Start on Friday was postponed due to recent events in the country.
RUSSIA
- Eugene Starikov started and played 59 minutes in FC Tom Tomsk's 3-1 win vs. Kuban Krasnodar on Saturday.
MEXICO
- Jose Torres started and played 70 minutes in Pachuca's 4-1 loss vs. Santos Laguna on Saturday.
- Herculez Gomez started and played 90 minutes in Estudiantes Tecos' 2-1 loss vs. Toluca on Friday.
- Edgar Castillo came off the bench and played 25 minutes in Club America's 2-1 win vs. Queretaro on Sunday.
- Sonny Guadarrama did not dress in Atlante's 2-0 loss vs. Chivas de Guadalajara on Saturday.
- Jonathan Bornstein did not dress in Tigres UANL's 1-1 draw vs. Cruz Azul on Saturday.
- DaMarcus Beasley started and played 88 minutes in Puebla's 1-0 win vs. Atlas on Saturday.
- Adrian Ruelas did not dress in Jaguares de Chiapas' 4-1 loss vs. Monterrey on Sunday.
- Michael Orozco started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in San Luis' 2-0 loss vs. Pumas UNAM on Sunday.
- Joe Corona started, played 90 minutes and scored a GOAL in Club Tijuana's 2-1 loss vs. Morelia on Saturday. (You can see the goal at the 1:18 mark.)
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What do you think of these performances? Impressed by Rolfe's goal? Think Beasley and Gomez will enjoy strong seasons?
Share your thoughts below.