The U18 Men’s National Team faced the California men Friday morning at the Home Depot Center, and the result was friendlier than Tuesday’s two losses to professional outfits.

Team USA won this game 3-2 behind goals from Stefan Jerome, Riley Wolfe and Dustin Corea.

But while coach Mike Matkovich said he was pleased with his team’s effort, he also emphasized that the final score is not what matters.

“I’m happy we got the result, we deserved the win,” he said, “but with training games like this, we don’t play to win. Our main objective here is to see guys, evaluate them, and put together a group that can compete on an international level.”

Matkovich added that this week’s games are more about taking advantage of teachable moments than producing good-looking stats, and that it’s important not to lose sight of the training camp’s long term goals.

“Sure, we can play a lot of games like this and win, but I don’t know that that helps us when we play a team like Romania or Portugal or Germany,” he said. “I’m happy we got the win today, but we’ve got to keep in perspective what we’re trying to accomplish in the long term.”

Still, final score aside, Team USA looked sharp today.

Central midfielders Kyle Emerson and Carlos Martinez controlled the tempo of the game, distributing the ball patiently and efficiently, without forcing many balls into coverage.

Riley Wolfe stretched the field with his speed, scoring a great goal on a breakaway as a wide midfielder in the first half, before moving to an outside back role in the second. He was effective there as well, though he fell in love with the long ball a bit too much.

Stefan Jerome and Dustin Corea were dynamic. Jerome used his great size and speed to occupy space before he was subbed out, while Corea repeatedly collapsed the Cal defense on the dribble.

Marquez Fernandez and Eriq Zavaleta were steady in the middle of the defense. Fernandez, in particular, always seemed to be in the right place at the right time, and won a number of tough balls in the air. He played physically, but perhaps too much so, as his foul in the box led to a penalty kick which led to Cal’s first goal.

Anthony Carerras and Emilio Orozco were solid but unspectacular as outside backs. Carerras again used size to his advantage on defense, but was less effective when he moved to a wide midfield role in the second half.

Substitute forwards Villyan Bijev and Christian Diaz had their positive moments, but were never quite able to break the game open. Bijev played some dangerous balls through the Cal defense, but also showed a tendency to shy away from contact on 50/50 balls.

Sean Okoli was dynamic as a right wing, flashing good quickness and ball skills, but never threatened goal.

And finally, goalkeeper Jonathan Kempin was solid. He was very quick coming off his line to attack the ball, and he also made a nice initial save on Cal’s penalty before it was kicked in off a deflection.  

In all, Team USA was in good form, and they can be pleased with their positive result.

As Matkovich made clear, though, this group is thinking big. And they have a long way before they can challenge the soccer-supremacy of the current world powers.


U18 MNT Starting Lineup by Position:

GOALKEEPER: Jonathan Kempin (Kansas City Wizards; Leawood, Kans.)

DEFENDERS (4): Anthony Carerras (BW Gottschee; Valley Stream, N.Y.), Marquez Fernandez (Baltimore Bays Chelsea; Baltimore, Md.), Eriq Zavaleta (FC Pride; Westfield, Ind.), Emilio Orozco (Real SoCal; Oxnard, Calif.)

MIDFIELDERS (5): Patrick Mullins (Maryland; Metairie, La.) Dustin Corea (Unattached; Portland, Ore.), Kyle Emerson (Wake Forest; Cypress, Texas), Riley Wolfe (Los Angeles Galaxy Academy), Carlos Martinez (Wilmington Jr.; San Pedro, Calif.)

FORWARD: Stefan Jerome (West Pines United FC; Davie, Fla.)

Substitutes:

GOALKEEPER: Keith Cardona (NY Red Bulls Academy; Glen Rock N.J.)
MIDFIELDER: Sean Okoli (Washington Premier FC; Federal Way, Wash.)
FORWARDS (2): Villyan Bijev (Cal Odyssey; Fresno, Calif.), Christian Diaz (Santa Cruz County Breakers; Santa Cruz, Calif.)