BRADENTON, Fla. (Dec. 9, 2004) - The U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team bounced back from a lackluster first half to pour in four unanswered goals in the second half for a 4-1 rout of Australia this morning at IMG Academy Park in Bradenton, Fla. Ryan Soroka scored two goals, while Eddie Ababio notched the first U.S. goal and added two assists to lead the U-17s to their second win over Australia in a week.

The U.S. fell behind in the 34th minute when the forward combo of Daniel Miller and David Williams put Australia on top. Williams was able to find Miller behind the U.S. defense and the striker put his shot past U.S. goalkeeper Bryant Rueckner for a 1-0 lead.

The U.S. continued to struggle in the second half until Ababio was brought on for David Arvizu in the 58th minute. Ababio’s speed and ball-handling skills put the tired Australian defense on their heels as he quickly pushed into the attack and created chances for the U.S. In the 64th minute, Ababio found the equalizer off a pass from David Williams.

The U.S. took the lead twelve minutes later as Soroka notched the first of his two goals off a pass from Ababio. Ababio was once again in the mix for the USA’s third goal, feeding Preston Zimmerman for his 84th minute strike.

Soroka knocked in his second goal of the day to finish off the scoring in the 88th minute, finishing a service from Eric Avila.

This was the second meeting for the older U.S. Under-17 MNT, as they also defeated Australia 2-0 on Dec. 2 on the first days of the Nike Friendlies.

Match-up:  U.S. Under-17 MNT vs. Australia
Date:  Dec. 9, 2004
Competition:  International Friendly
Venue:  IMG Academy Park – Bradenton, Fla.
Kickoff:  10 a.m. (ET)
Weather: 75 degrees; cloudy

Scoring Summary:          1    2    F
USA                                0    4    4
Australia                         1    0     0

AUS – Daniel Miller (David Williams)    34th minute
USA – Eddie Ababio (Anthony Wallace)    64th
USA – Ryan Soroka (Eddie Ababio)    76th
USA – Preston Zimmerman (Eddie Ababio)    84th
USA – Ryan Soroka (Eric Avila)        88th

Lineups:
USA: 1-Bryant Rueckner (40-Evan Newton, 46); 4-Eric Lichaj, 7-Ofori Sarkodie, 10-Carlos Borja, 13-Blake Wagner (25-Anthony Wallace, 46); 23-Anthony Ampaipitakwong (15-Eric Avila, 46), 14-Kyle Nakazawa (3-Kevin Alston, 46), 33-David Arvizu (26-Eddie Ababio, 58), 6-Quavas Kirk (38-Perica Marosevic, 46); 9-Preston Zimmerman, 11-Ryan Soroka.

AUS: 1-Ben Cheyne; 16-Matt Dobbin, 5-Matthew Spiranovic, 2-Scott Weidenbach, 4-Wade Oostendorp Power; 14-Brendan Maroney (6-Leigh Broxham, 73), 7-Matthew Mullen (12-Tayfun Buyukkopru, 82), 10-Kaz Patafta, 3-Dean Piemonte (20-Daniel Visevic, 73); 8-David Williams, 9-Daniel Miller (15-Robbie Kruse, 79).
 
Stats Summary:        USA    AUS
Shots                             12         5
Saves                              0         3
Corner Kicks                  3         5
Fouls                             20       20
Offside                           2         5

Misconduct Summary:
none