Goodson Goal Propels US to Gold Cup Final

The United States national team will be looking to win its third consecutive CONCACAF Gold Cup this Sunday at Giants Stadium. The Yanks advanced to the final by beating Honduras for the third time in a little under two months and the second time in this tournament. Bob Bradley and company will be taking on Mexico, who defeated Costa Rica in the second semifinal at Soldier Field.
Much like the quarterfinal against Panama, the US had a hard time finding the back of the net in the opening act. It looked as if the two sides would enter the locker rooms tied 0-0 until Clarence Goodson scored his first career international goal off a Stuart Holden corner kick. Goodson, who had a header go inches wide earlier in the match, powered home a beautifully hit ball with an emphatic finish in the 45th minute.

The US would never relinquish this lead, and could have extended it early on in the second half, but referee Courtney Campbell did not award Robbie Rogers with what looked like a penalty. Several half-chances from Stuart Holden and Chad Marshall were stopped just a few minutes later by Honduran keeper Donis Escobar. Escobar kept Los Catrachos in the match with several timely saves, including his great stop in the 87th minute that denied Jay Heaps his first international goal.

The game was finally put out of reach in the 90th minute, however, when a nice buildup ended with an easy finish by Kenny Cooper. Brian Ching held up a ball in the box before a simple back heel to Stuart Holden, who played a ball across the six to an unmarked Cooper. The FC Dallas striker made no mistake, depositing the ball into the net.

Honduras did not have many serious offensive chances throughout the match, but Troy Perkins made all the plays he needed to make to preserve the clean sheet. His solid performance was capped off by a crucial save on Carlos Costly in the 85th minute that kept the US in front 1-0. Perkins will look to cap off his Gold Cup with another quality outing on Sunday in hopes of solidifying his claim to the third goalkeeper roster spot for the 2010 World Cup.

The US performed well defensively, with Kyle Beckerman and Chad Marshall putting in strong efforts once again. Stuart Holden improved on his quarterfinal performance, setting up both US goals and earning our nod as MLS Daily Man of the Match.