On This Day in 2005, an All-MLS Lineup Routs Colombia Before the U.S. Eyes History in Mexico
Coming off the gritty road win in Port-of-Spain, the Americans had precious little time before their next test, and an unusual one at that. With European-based stars like Landon Donovan, Claudio Reyna and Brian McBride still locked into their club schedules through late March, Bruce Arena turned to his domestic pool for a pair of exhibitions that would double as auditions. The first, on March 9 against Colombia, would be played at Titan Stadium on the Cal State Fullerton campus—a peculiar setting, made more peculiar by the fact that Mexico was playing Argentina at the Los Angeles Coliseum that same evening, 40 miles up the freeway.
Arena didn't pretend the situation was ideal. "It's basically our first game with this domestic group, so it's important that we play regardless of the location," he said. He had a team to assemble, altitude conditioning ahead, and a date at the Azteca looming on March 27. It would be the Americans' shot at their first-ever qualifying win in Mexico City, where they were 0-1-21 (WDL) all-time.
The Colombia game had been hastily patched together after the labor dispute between U.S. Soccer and its players wiped out planned friendlies against Sweden and South Korea. Arena's 18-man roster contained only one survivor from the 2002 World Cup, Pablo Mastroeni, with Eddie Pope and Frankie Hejduk also absent due to injury. Four players would earn their first caps. Six would make their first starts. It had the makings of a developmental exercise. Colombia didn't get the memo.
What unfolded before 7,086 near-capacity spectators was a performance that turned heads. New England midfielder Pat Noonan, in just his second national team appearance, opened the scoring in the 25th minute when Steve Ralston's chip from the right struck the crossbar and bounced invitingly into his path. Noonan drove it into the roof of the net before the goalkeeper could recover. Eight minutes later, the Americans doubled their lead in the fashion Arena coveted most: set piece quality. Ralston again delivered from the right, this time a hard cross that the 6-foot-3 Chad Marshall—making his debut, already being talked about as the center back of the future—met with a diving header. Two-nil at halftime, without a European boot on the pitch.
Colombia showed more life after the break, but fell further behind in the 66th minute when Clint Mathis, the squad's most capped player with 45 appearances and a man who hadn't scored for the national team in over two years, curled a corner kick directly into the net past goalkeeper Juan Henao. It was the kind of goal that looks effortless and isn't. The final scoreline, 3-0, and it could have been more, prompted a pointed summary from the coaching staff: next time, bring your first team.
Arena was careful not to get baited into a broader argument about opponent preparation. The depth was the story, he insisted. "If we had to play our best 1,000 against Brazil's best 1,000, we'd never have a chance," he said. "But when you get it down to 11 against 11, the odds are a little bit more favorable for us."
Eddie Johnson, chasing a fifth straight goal-scoring game, was held at bay. His sharpest chance cleared off the line in the 23rd minute, but Arena waved off any concern. "I think the more important statistic for Johnson is that it's another game he's been with us that we've won," he said. "Since Eddie's been with us, we're winning." A late red card to Taylor Twellman, who had entered as a substitute, left the Americans a man short for the final 14 minutes, but by then the result was long decided. The unbeaten run stretched to 15 games.
10 days later, the caravan deliberately moved to Albuquerque. The United States had been altitude training in Colorado Springs at 7,400 feet, and Arena wanted a competitive match at University Stadium's 5,300-foot elevation as a literal stepping stone toward Mexico City. The European contingent wouldn't arrive until the following day. This was still the MLS group's show.
And Johnson made it his. On the stroke of halftime, Mathis launched a thunderbolt from 30 yards that rattled the crossbar; the rebound fell to Johnson in acres of space, Honduras goalkeeper Junior Morales still scrambling to recover. It was, by Johnson's own admission, the type of finish that isn't as simple as it looks. "The hardest ones are when the goal is that open," he said. "You're already thinking about celebrating before you kick it." His seventh goal in six appearances made him the most prolific scorer in U.S. history at that stage of a career. The Americans held on 1-0, out-shooting Honduras 12-2, and extended their CONCACAF unbeaten run to 31 straight.
Together, the two results accomplished exactly what Arena had designed them to do. The domestic players had made their cases—Noonan, Marshall, Mathis, and Johnson especially. Altitude acclimatization was underway. And with the European stars rejoining the squad the day after the Honduras win, the full complement of American talent was finally gathering for the moment Arena had been building toward all spring.
"This is every young American kid's dream," Johnson said of the Mexico City match ahead. "I have to tune out the crowd and play like I've been playing." The crowd at the Azteca would be approximately 110,000. The record looked woeful, and the United States had never left that stadium with a win. Maybe this was the time