A Japan tying goal with just seconds left in the game made for a tough end to a busy day for the U.S. team, who defeated club side NY Ecuador FC, 10-1, earlier in the morning. Japan was always going to be a stern test for Keith Tozer's side, and the U.S. head coach looked at the game in terms of of the team's growth ahead of the FIFA Futsal World Cup, which begins later this month."An experience like this is invaluable for our team," said Tozer. "We scored four really nice goals and I thought we defended really well at times throughout the game. There were a lot of positives to take and we'll dwell on those heading into the rest of the weekend."The U.S. took the game to their opponents early on. The match's high tempo allowed the U.S. to dictate the pace to Japan in the first few minutes of the game, and eventually the pressure told. The halftime score was 3-3, with both teams knowing full well that the goals were unlikely to be finished for the night.
Sure enough, after coming out reenergized in the second period, the U.S. again took the lead. Once more it was a dead ball situation that provided the breakthrough, with Joe Hammes backheel setting up Pat Morris for a clear shot at goal. Morris' blast was never going to be saved, and after 23 minutes the U.S. had restored its advantage. The U.S. tried to put the clamps on the Japanese attack and U.S. goalkeeper Brett Phillips repelled a series of difficult chances from the visitors. However, Inaba continued to cause problems and only the post came to Phillips' rescue in the 27th minute.In the 36th minute, Japan opted for a sixth attacker but still Brazilian Sergio Sapo's team could not find the desired breakthrough. Shot after shot flew wide of the U.S. goal but eventually the pressure would prove to be too much. With just seconds to go, Yuki Kanayama squared the ball across the goal for Maeda who composed himself to tap in the equalizer. In the end, the buzzer called time on what was probably a fair result for the teams, both of whom will be participating in the
FIFA Futsal World Cup starting later this month.
The U.S. kicks off it's World Cup campaign on Sept. 30, having been drawn into Group B with along with Italy, Portugal, Thailand and Paraguay.
"We were thinking three points and ended up with one point. It's something that we'll hopefully learn from when we go [to Brazil for the FIFA Futsal World Cup]," said Tozer who, despite the draw, stressed the numerous encouraging points on the night.
The U.S. faces Japan again on Sunday, with kickoff at the Kern Center scheduled for 1 p.m.
