August 01, 2006 | 15:28
Former UNC Tar Heel Dax McCarty captained the USA U20 Men's National Team to a 3-0 rout in their opening match of the 2006 Milk Cup. The prestigous youth tournament, held annually in Ballymena, Northern Ireland gives the holders, the American U18 squad from 2005, a chance to defend their titles as (technically) a U19 side against the likes of Wales, Denmark, Turkey, Paraguay, and the hosts Northern Ireland.
McCarty skippered Thomas Roengen's side in the opening match, turning in a masterfully dominant midfield performance that had the BBC Northern Ireland commentator gushing with comparisons of McCarty's play to that of former England international Francis Lee.
The Americans posted all three goals inside 35 minutes. The second coming when McCarty pulled down a failed Wales corner clearance and laid it back to Tony Beltran who blasted a 30 yard shot off a defensive deflection and into the net. McCarty rounded out he scoring when Bolton striker Johann Smith found Dax at the top of the box, who took a handful of back-and-forth touches turning the Wales defense inside-out before blasting a right-footed shot past the Wales keeper from 20 yards.
4 minutes later, Smith again provided McCarty in a give-and-go situation and the best the Wales defense could do was level McCarty inside the box to stop the attack on goal. The penalty drawn, McCarty handed the ball to his provider Smith who failed to convert the holder's fourth goal of the match.
The US plays their final qualifying round match on Wednesday against Denmark. Their final match of the Milk Cup will be Friday and based on the 3-0 win against Wales, the USA is in a good position to advance to the title match pending a good result against the Danes.
A full video replay of the match is available on BBC online and a match report is posted on US Soccer's website.
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