The U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team picked up a lopsided win in its only friendly of October.
Six different players scored goals for Jason Kreis’ side as the U.S. downed El Salvador 6-1 in Miami. Djordje Mihailovic captained the side, while Sebastian Soto, Alex Mendez, and Chris Gloster all made the starting lineup.
It only took 10 minutes for the U.S. to break the deadlock as Brooks Lennon tapped home from close-range. Alex Mendez registered the assist on the play, sending a cross for Lennon to finish.
A pair of MLS players connected on the U.S.’ second goal of the opening half as Jonathan Lewis finished an assist from Mihailovic in the 30th minute.
Kreis made seven changes heading into the second-half with J.T. Marcinowski replacing Matt Freese in goal and the likes of Omir Fernandez, Richard Ledezma, and Chris Durkin all coming onto the pitch.
The U.S. extended its advantage to 4-0 after a pair of goals in a two-minute span. First Mihailovic set up Ledezma for his first goal of the evening in the 48th minute, before Lewis set up Soto just two minutes later.
El Salvador pulled a goal back with a penalty kick, but substitutes Mason Toye and Manny Perez each scored goals to stamp the final score at 6-1 in Miami.
The U.S. will continue preparation for next Spring’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament later this winter.
Are the U-23 friendlies televised?
It’s def a gloomy evening…(pun intended). Some good news, Larry! …especially if you’re like me and think Olympic Qualifying is important. It’s more disappointing, IMO, not qualifying for an Olympic tournament than losing to Canada tonight.
Can we just let this team play in November, I think they’ll lose to Canada but they couldn’t look much worse.