USA breaks record with 13-0 win at Concacaf U-20 Men's Championship

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Nov 4, 2018

Concacaf's decision to invite all members to send teams to the Concacaf U-20 Men's Championship without any preliminary rounds was bound to create some mismatches.

After a 7-1 win over Puerto Rico, the USA beat U.S. Virgin Islands, 13-0, on Saturday to set a new team record for the most goals at the Concacaf U-20 Men's Championship. The 13 goals matched Suriname's output in its 13-2 win over U.S. Virgin Islands in their opening Group A game.



Ulysses Llanez, who had come off the bench to set up the sixth goal and score the seventh against Puerto Rico, had a hat trick and added three more assists as he accounted for all six goals in the first half before exiting at the break.

Mark McKenzie, who was brought in from the Philadelphia Union after it was eliminated from the MLS playoffs, and Indiana University sophomore Justin Rennicks scored two goals while six other players added goals for the USA, which fired off 55 shots, 29 on target.

The best goals were Llanez's third goal, which he put away with a driving scissors kick off the ground and past keeper Connor Querrard, and the 13th and final goal scored by Manny Perez after the N.C. State defender weaved his way through the Virgin Islands defense.

Coach Tab Ramos made nine changes to the lineup that faced Puerto Rico, with only Philadelphia Union  defender Matt Real and Toronto FC forward Ayo Akinola again in the starting lineup.

Only the winner advances from the six-team Group A to the second group stage, so the USA, the group top seed, cannot afford any slip-up. It faces potentially its toughest match against Trinidad & Tobago on Monday.

T&T, which was drawn from the first pot of remaining teams, beat Puerto Rico, 5-1, on Saturday after rallying for two goals in stoppage time to beat St. Vincent & the Grenadines, 3-2, in its opening game. Suriname has also won its first two games.

Nov. 2 in Bradenton, Fla.
USA 13 U.S. Virgin Islands 0. Goals: Dorsey 4, Akinola 20, Llanez 23, 30, 39, Fontana 41, Rennicks 62, 66, McKenzie 63, 81, Pomykal 68, Mendez pen. 79, Perez 90+2.
USA -- Ochoa, Real, McKenzie, Araujo, Perez; Amaya, Fontana, Angking (Mendez 60); Llanez (Rennicks 46), Akinola (Pomykal 59), Dorsey.
U.S. Virgin Islands -- Querrard; Verna, Blaschka, G.Farrell; Richards, Maynard (Q.Farrell, 32); Mills, McGuiness (Thomas, 74), Delgado (Saint Louis, 88), Engerman; Joseph.
Att.: 620.