US Team advances to the Semi -finals after a 6-2 win against Costa Rica

U.S. edges Haiti 5-3 to go out in front in CONCACAF Futsal Championships Group B

Scoring balance, defensive pressure give Americans start toward defending gold medal

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala (June 3, 2008) — The United States futsal team grabbed the early lead in Group B of the CONCACAF Futsal Championships today, holding off Haiti 5-3 to earn the full three points at Domo Polideportivo.

Panama and Costa Rica tied, 6-6, in the first Group B contest, putting the Americans in position to advance to the semifinals merely by winning one of their last two games.

Five different players scored for the U.S., who took a 4-1 lead early in the second half, then saw Haiti cut the margin to 4-3 before Matthew Stewart scored the clinching goal in the 39th minute.

“I don’t think we played our best game,” said U.S. Head Coach Keith Tozer. “I thought our passing wasn’t really that crisp at times. I don’t think our finishing was that good. Overall, our goal was to get three points, and that’s what we did.”

The U.S. game plan was to take the lead first didn’t pan out, as Haiti fired a long shot in the fourth minute that was deflected in front of the net and changed direction. Nick Vorberg had no chance to make the stop, and Haiti took the early lead in its first CONCACAF futsal match.

But the defensive pressure that Tozer sees as a hallmark of this team paid off just one minute later. Chile Farias forced a turnover and played some back-and-forth with Denison Cabral, leading to Cabral’s score in the fifth minute.

Sandre Naumoski scored his first international goal in his first game in the 11th minute, after Mike Apple drew a foul near the 10-meter spot. Naumoski’s free kick put the U.S. head to stay.

Another set piece led to a 3-1 advantage in the 16th minute. Pat Morris touched a corner kick into Cabral, who played it back to Morris. The defender rifled a left-footed cross to Jamar Beasley, and he volleyed it in at the back post. Morris (19 caps) and Beasley (18) are the two most experienced international players on the U.S. roster, and it showed on that play.

“Set pieces are a big part of the game of soccer, and we’ve got some great guys on the ball,” Tozer said. “Denison Cabral, Pat Morris, Chile Farias — they’re guys who can really strike the ball.”

When Farias rifled in a long shot after Stewart forced a turnover, it was 4-1 in the 26th minute and the U.S. looked to be in position to run away.

But Haiti countered in the 27th minute, then scored another deflected goal from distance in the 36th minute to create a tense situation for the Americans.

“We’re a very good team that presses the point of attack and, on all three goals, we did not step out quick enough,” Tozer said. “And when you don’t step out, it allows the shot, and then the deflection.”

But Stewart gave the U.S. a cushion with just under two minutes remaining at the end of a 3-on-1 break. The initial opportunity was saved, but a loose ball rolled in front with the keeper out of position, and Stewart poked it into the empty net.

“We feel that with the youth of our team, we will only get better as the tournament goes on,” Tozer said. “We had the opportunity to score more goals today. Our finishing wasn’t that sharp.”

The U.S. team next faces Panama at 12 p.m. local time, 2 p.m. ET, on Wednesday, June 4. The U.S. and Panama played to a 2-all draw in the 2004 CONCACAF Championships in the only futsal match the two countries have played. Panama is making its second appearance in the CONCACAF Championships.

Panama scored a stunning tie against Costa Rica on Tuesday in a breathtaking match. Panama led 4-0, saw Costa Rica scored six consecutive times, then tallied twice in the final 3 minutes to knot the score. A chance to win in the final minute barely eluded the Canaleros, when a shot at the back post caught just enough of the inside post to deflect out of bounds in the far corner.

Participants: U.S. National Futsal Team vs. Haiti
Competition: CONCACAF Futsal Championships 2008
Location: Domo Polideportivo. Guatemala City, Guatemala
Date: June 3, 2008

Scoring Summary: 1 2 Final
Haiti 1 2 3
USA 3 2 5

HTI — Edouard Voltaire
USA — Denison Cabral
USA — Sandre Naumoski
USA — Jamar Beasley
USA — Chile Farias
HTI —Edouard Voltaire
HTI — Elaicin Rigarden
USA — Matthew Stewart

Lineups:
USA – 1-Nick Vorberg, 5-Denison Cabral, 8-Chile Farias, 9-Pat Morris, 11-Matthew Stewart
Subs Used: 2-Dan DeGeer, 3-Jamar Beasley, 4-Mike Apple, 6-Andy Rosenband, 7-Ptah Myers, 10-Sandre Naumoski.
Did Not Play: 12-Jeff Richey
Head Coach: Keith Tozer

US Team wins the first game of the tournament - USA 5 x 3 Haiti

Coach Tozer talks about the game plan for the first game Vs. Haiti

Last scrimmage before the first game - CONCACAF Championships in Guatemala

U.S. ROUTS CLUB TEAM IN FINAL FUTSAL TUNEUP
Keith Tozer’s squad opens CONCACAF play on Tuesday vs. Haiti

Guatemala City, Guatemala (May 31, 2008) — Watching his 1-year-old son fascinates Mike Apple. The low-maintenance tot has learned not to touch the TV and be gentle with the dog as he soaks up the words and actions of his parents.
Apple, a forward on the U.S. national futsal team, is growing in this sport in much the same way. He’d never played organized futsal before last month’s training trip to Miami and Brazil, yet will be counted on to provide points when the team begins the CONCACAF Championships here Tuesday against Haiti.
Apple assisted on four goals and scored one Saturday as the Americans routed Guatemalan club team Ferretaria el Trebol 13-0 in their final exhibition match.
A target forward for the Detroit Ignition of the Major Indoor Soccer League, Apple is seeing his first international action this year as part of Keith Tozer’s 12-man squad. His role is very similar to his MISL job, posting up in the attacking end and looking for runners off the ball.
“The toughest thing for me has been getting used to the smaller ball, finding it under my foot,” said the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Akron native.
He did it well Saturday, recording all his points in the first half as the U.S. rolled to an 11-0 halftime margin. He fed Pat Morris streaking into the area for the Americans’ second goal, assisted Chile Farias for the third and then set up goals 6 and 7 just 20 seconds apart. With 1:43 remaining in the half, he scored his goal on a pass from Sandre Naumoski.


“As far as the work ethic and the intensity, we wanted to take it up 3-4 levels from Friday, and we did that today,” said U.S. Head Coach Keith Tozer. “With that intensity, we moved the ball better on offense.”
Farias scored four goals and Denison Cabral added three goals and three assists for the U.S. Jeff Richey made seven saves for the shutout, including one 10-meter penalty shot.
“They’ve all made great strides,” Tozer said of his team. “We have five guys who had never played futsal before last month.”
Apple is one of those five, but — like a 1-year-old boy learning about this big world — is rapidly becoming comfortable.
“If a defender is going to stand behind me, I feel pretty confident that I can find someone running by,” Apple said.
The U.S. is in Group B with Haiti, Panama and Costa Rica. The top three teams advance to the FIFA Futsal World Championships in Brazil in October.

Participants: U.S. National Futsal Team vs. Ferretaria el Trebol
Competition: Exhibition
Location: Bremen Domo, Guatemala City, Guatemala
Date: May 31, 2008

Scoring Summary:

USA 11
Winasor 0

USA — Own goal, 1st minute
USA — Pat Morris, 4th minute
USA — Chile Farias, 7th minute
USA — Denison Cabral, 11th minute
USA — Chile Farias, 13th minute
USA — Andy Rosenband, 14th minute
USA — Ptah Myers, 14th minute
USA — Denison Cabral, 16th minute
USA — Denison Cabral, 19th minute
USA — Mike Apple, 19th minute
USA — Sandre Naumoski, 19th minute
USA — Chile Farias, 30th minute
USA — Chile Farias, 38th minute





Matt Schroeder
Director of Public, Media and Community Relations
Milwaukee Wave professional indoor soccer
O: (414) 908-6352
C: (262) 227-0342
F: (414) 224-9290

2nd scrimmage in Guatemala

3rd Day in Guatemala... Go USA!!

Day 2 Highlights

We beat a local club team 7-1. Enjoy!

FUTSAL NATIONAL TEAM - 2008 CONCACAF

CABRAL’S HAT TRICK LEADS U.S. TO EXHIBITION VICTORY

Futsal team wins first of two matches against local pro sides
Guatemala City, Guatemala (May 30, 2008)

Denison Cabral scored a hat trick and Ptah Myers added two goals as the U.S. national futsal team defeated Winasor 7-1 on Friday in an exhibition match at Bremen Domo. Winasor plays in the second division of Liga Nacional de Futsal Guatemala.Head Coach Keith Tozer’s emphasis on defense showed Friday, when the Americans allowed only a 40th-minute tally and created a number of goals and scoring opportunities by forcing Winasor to turn the ball over in its defensive half.“Whenever you play a game with the national team and come out with a win, I think that’s good,” Tozer said. “It was a good confidence-builder for our guys. Some of the things we worked on (during our training trip) in Brazil and here came out today.”Cabral, who plays for the Major Indoor Soccer League’s Baltimore Blast, opened the scoring in the 9th minute after Andy Rosenband forced one of those turnovers. Chile Farias set up Cabral’s 13th-minute goal. Another turnover in the half’s final minute led to some nice ball movement in the box, Myers finishing a pass from his Philadelphia KiXX teammate, Sandre Naumoski. Cabral also had an assist in the game, setting up Matthew Stewart in the 29th minute. Farias fed Naumoski after yet another forced turnover to make it 5-0 in the 34th minute.Winning goalkeeper Nick Vorberg initially thought he had his first futsal goal on a corner kick play in the 36th minute, but his one-time actually was redirected in front by Cabral. Vorberg played all 40 minutes in Friday’s exhibition.Myers closed the U.S. scoring in the 37th minute, before Winasor got its only tally. A second exhibition game is scheduled Saturday, before Tozer’s squad fine-tunes things before Tuesday’s CONACAF opener against Haiti at noon (2 p.m. EST). The U.S. is the defending CONCACAF gold medalist.

Participants:

U.S. National Futsal Team vs. WinasorCompetition: Exhibition

Location: Bremen Domo, Guatemala City, Guatemala

Date: May 30, 2008 Scoring Summary:

1st 2nd Final

USA 3 4 7

Winasor 0 1 1

USA - Denison Cabral, 9th minute

USA — Denison Cabral, 13th minute

USA — Ptah Myers, 20th minute

USA — Matthew Stewart, 29th minute

USA — Sandre Naumsoki, 34th minute

USA — Denison Cabral, 36th minute

USA — Ptah Myers, 37th minute

Winasor — 40th minute

Matt SchroederDirector of Public,

Media and Community Relations

Milwaukee Wave professional indoor soccer:

O: (414) 908-6352

C: (262) 227-0342

F: (414) 224-9290