BRIEFLY TOLD: EX-KICKER NO LONGER USMNT STARTER

 Briefly told:



FORMER RICHMOND Kickers goalkeeper MATT 

TURNER apparently will open soccer’s World Cup (Friday 

against Paraguay) No. 2 to MATT FREESE No. 1 for the U.S. 

National Team … despite a weak effort on Germany’s first goal 

by Freese in Saturday’s not-so-friendly won 2-1 by the visitors 

in Chicago.


Nevertheless, it was an encouraging performance by the team 

in its final warmup for the FIFA-sponsored Cup, held everyfour 

years and returning to this country for the first time since 1994 

… with the Americans, once again not expected to prevail. 

Their best finish was a quarterfinal appearance in 2002 under 

former University of Virginia coach BRUCE ARENA.


Saturday, after a shaky opening 15 minutes or so, the U.S., 

pretty much dominated a game that threatened to get out of 

hand in the second half when there were several scrums.

 ANTONEE ROBINSON’s first international goal, a perfectly-

timed shot from outside the box, knotted the score in the 37th 

minute.


The stats belonged to the Americans – Time of Possession 52 

%; Shots 16-12; Corners 10-2 and Fouls, 11-10. Each side was 

credited with four shots on goal.


“Of course, everyone would have liked a win … but that was 

about as good as you can do before you go into your first World 

Cup match. I mean, that’s Germany, four-time World 

champion,” said KYLE MARTINO, former UVA (twice ACC 

player of the year) and USMNT (eight international caps) 

standout .


“That was their first eleven, minus one or two players, at the 

beginning … and our first eleven went toe-to-toe, had more 

opportunities, more fouls, were the aggressors … and the guys 

off the bench didn’t let the bar drop.”


Things didn’t get off well, however, when Sweden scored fewer 

than two minutes in off a set piece header by KAI HARVETZ 

from about five yards out. Freese, who’s been playing for New 

York, appeared slow to react.


WORDS TO LIVE BY:


“We’re not going to counter-punch … we’re going to inflict.”


Las Vegas’ Golden Knights’ coach JOHN TOTORELLA on 

the eve of the final round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, 

explaining why he wasn’t replying to questions about the 

Carolina Hurricanes.


In other words, Vegas wouldn’t sit back and rely on defense 

against the always-aggressive Hurricanes … which has made 

for crowd-pleasing three games to date.

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