Men's U-17 National Team Wins Christchurch Cup with 5-1 Victory over South Korea
CHICAGO (Friday, December 18, 1998) - The U.S. Men's Under-17 National Team hammered their South Korean counterparts, 5-1, yesterday in Christchurch, New Zealand to win the 1998 Christchurch Cup international youth tournament. The six-team, round robin tournament featured the U-17 National T
Dec. 18, 1998
U.S. forward Landon Donovan (Redlands, Calif.) was once again the engine behind the U.S. scoring machine. Donovan pounded in three goals and added one assist against the South Koreans, bringing his five-game, tournament leading totals to 11 goals and 5 assists.
At the defensive end of the field, the United States held the South Koreans to just one goal, which happened to be the only goal the U.S. allowed in the tournament. U.S. starting goalkeeper D.J. Countess (Sacramento, Calif.) earned three shutouts in the tournament.
Under the guidance of head coach John Ellinger (Ellicott City, Md.) the United States U-17s conclude a productive year with a record of 17-7-4 in U-17 internationals and an overall record of 31-8-7. During 1998, the team traveled abroad to play in France, Italy, Jamaica, England, Belgium, Austria and New Zealand, posting tournament championships at the KC Mechelen Tournament (Belgium) and the Christchurch Cup. Along the way, the squad defeated the U-17 national teams from Austria, Sweden, Greece, England, France and Germany.
The U.S. team will travel to Montego Bay, Jamaica in February to compete in CONCACAF qualifying for the right to compete in the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championship in New Zealand. In qualifying the U.S. will play Group A opponents Costa Rica (Feb. 24), Honduras (Feb. 26) and host Jamaica (Feb. 28). The top team will advance to New Zealand '99 with the runner-up to face a play-off against the Group B runner-up.
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| Date | Opponent | Result | U.S. Goals |
| Dec. 11 | Solomon Islands | 10-0 W | Landon Donovan (5), Jordan Cila, DaMarcus Beasley (2), Oguchi Onyewu, Danny Bolin |
| Dec. 12 | New Zealand | 0-0 T | -- |
| Dec. 14 | Tahiti | 6-0 W | DaMarcus Beasley, Seth Trembly, Jordan Cila (2), Alex Yi, Landon Donovan |
| Dec. 16 | South Africa | 4-0 W | Jordan Cila, Landon Donovan (2), Bobby Convey |
| Dec. 18 | South Korea | 5-1 W | Landon Donovan (3), Jordan Cila, Kyle Beckerman |
U.S. Leading Scorers: Landon Donovan (11 goals, 5 assists), Jordan Cila (5 goals, 3 assists), DaMarcus Beasley (3 goals, 3 assists), Kyle Beckerman (1 goal, 2 assists); Bobby Convey (1 goal, 1 assist); Seth Trembly, Alex Yi, Oguchi Onyewu, Danny Bolin (1 goal each); Bryan Jackson, Ken Cutler, Kellen Kalso, D.J. Countess (1 assist each).
