Donovan's Second Hat-Trick

 On This Day in 2007, Wearing the New Copa Kit, Donovan Became the First American to Score Two International Hat-Tricks

After the disappointment at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, the United States men's national team looked to rebuild and refocus on the long road toward South Africa in 2010. Under interim head coach Bob Bradley, the Americans had already shown promising signs with victories over Mexico and Denmark, establishing a foundation for the four-year journey ahead.

For Bradley, a New Jersey native who took over on an interim basis in December following Bruce Arena's eight-year tenure, status titles mattered little in the high-pressure world of international soccer. "You learn when you're involved in professional sports that there's so many things you can't control that you don't worry about it," Bradley explained before the match. "You worry about what you can control, and that's the group that we have and how we go about our business each day."

Despite being the most successful coach in Major League Soccer history—with more wins than any other manager, playoff appearances in nine seasons, and two Coach of the Year awards—Bradley wasn't U.S. Soccer's first choice for the national team position. The federation had initially pursued Germany's Jurgen Klinsmann, who had led his home country to a third-place finish in the 2006 World Cup, but negotiations had fallen through.

On a sunny March 25th afternoon at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, the Americans unveiled their new royal blue and white pinstripe jerseys before a record crowd of 31,547—the largest to ever see a U.S. men's national team friendly in Florida. The spectators had barely settled into their seats when Landon Donovan, wearing the captain's armband for the first time under Bradley, made an immediate impact.

Just 35 seconds into the match, Donovan took one touch at the top of the penalty box and unleashed a left-footed missile from 20 meters that sailed past a surprised Ecuador goalkeeper, Rorys Aragon. The early strike electrified the pro-American crowd, but Ecuador responded quickly. In the 11th minute, Felipe Caicedo received a pass from defender Neicer Reasco, dribbled past several defenders inside the box, and beat goalkeeper Tim Howard to level the score at 1-1.

The match remained tightly contested through the first hour, with both teams creating chances but unable to break the deadlock. The U.S. featured eleven players from their 2006 World Cup roster, including five who had played in all three matches in Germany: DaMarcus Beasley, Steve Cherundolo, Donovan, Oguchi Onyewu, and veteran goalkeeper Kasey Keller.

The breakthrough finally came in the 66th minute through a well-crafted team move. Defender Oguchi Onyewu played a long ball out of the back that Brian Ching—who had briefly left the match in the first half with a bloody nose after being kicked in the face—settled near midfield. With a defender on his back, Ching wheeled and found a streaking Donovan, who outpaced his marker before slotting a shot past Aragon.

"I knew the last defender was marking me, and I saw Landon just take off," said Ching, who had played with Donovan at San Jose in MLS. "And he's going to beat pretty much anybody in a footrace."

Before Ecuador could regroup, Donovan struck again less than a minute later. DaMarcus Beasley drove deep into the left corner before cutting back and sliding a ball to an onrushing Donovan at the top of the box. The U.S. captain unleashed a thunderous right-footed strike from 20 meters that found the upper right corner of the goal, completing his hat-trick and sealing the 3-1 victory.

It was only the 10th hat-trick by a U.S. national team player in history and Donovan's first since scoring four goals against Cuba in 2003. The three goals gave him 30 in a U.S. uniform, moving him into a tie with Brian McBride for second on the all-time scoring list, just four behind record-holder Eric Wynalda. As the final whistle approached, Donovan, arms extended above his head, took a slow jog toward the U.S. sideline, clapping in appreciation toward the crowd. The hat-trick represented a significant personal redemption for a player who had been sharply criticized after a disappointing performance at the 2006 World Cup.

"At the end of last year and the World Cup, as bad as that was for me personally, I feel like I learned a lot from it," Donovan reflected afterward. "I think I grew up a lot."

Bradley, the first U.S. national coach to win his first three games, praised Donovan's goal-scoring prowess and evolving leadership. "Throughout this camp, you could tell that he had really stepped things up in terms of his role on the team," Bradley said. "He really came through with the goals and good movement off the ball, which is something that he does really well."

The victory continued the Americans' impressive start under Bradley, adding further weight to his case for removing the "interim" tag from his title. The U.S. team was building valuable momentum with the CONCACAF Gold Cup and Copa America tournaments approaching in the summer.

The Americans had little time to celebrate, as they had a quick turnaround before facing Guatemala at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, just three days later. The team would face China on June 2 in San Jose, California, before beginning their summer tournament schedule.

As representatives of the U.S. and Ecuador federations exchanged gifts after the match—the United States presented a crystal with a hologram of a player, and Ecuador received a statue of an Andean falcon, Ecuador's national bird—it was clear that Bradley's team was establishing a new identity in the post-Arena era, with Donovan once again at its heart.