U.S. Para 7-a-Side NT Wins Group and Advances to World Cup Quarterfinals After 1-1 Draw with Ireland
Nick Mayhugh Scores his 8th World Cup Goal;
USA Faces England in Quarterfinals on Sunday, July 14
SEVILLA, SPAIN (July 12, 2019) – The U.S. Para 7-a-Side National Team played the final 25+ minutes short-handed but held on to draw Ireland 1-1 in its final Group B match of the IFCPF World Cup. With seven points through the three games, the USA won the four-team group stage for the first time in program history.
The USA advances to the World Cup quarterfinals to face England (second in Group A) on Sunday, July 14 at 3 p.m. ET.
Knowing that a goal would force Ireland to score three in order to advance as one of the top two teams, the USA started off on the front foot with Nick Mayhugh and Seth Jahn each coming inches from the opening goal on shots in the first two minutes.
The USA had a slight scare after six minutes when Jahn and teammate Drew Bennett collided on the offensive end. Bennett took the brunt of the hit and attempted to play on, but was eventually replaced by David Garza after 13 minutes.
Less than a minute later, Garza sent nice pass to Mayhugh who ripped a 25-yard curling shot beyond the out-stretched goalkeeper to give the USA the lead.
The momentum then shifted quickly, as Ireland began unleashing shots in succession. Led by captain Josh Brunais, who twice cleared shots headed towards goal, the U.S. defense held strong. As he’d done before in the tournament, goalkeeper Sean Boyle made two spectacular saves to keep Ireland at bay First, he got low to his right to parry a shot at the pos, and then quickly recovered to deny the second-chance attempt from close range.
Ireland finally broke through minutes into the second half when Dillon Sheridan tucked in a well-place shot at the near post to even the match at 1-1.
The game changed soon after when USA forward Seth Jahn was sent off after a challenge and reaction to a pair of Irish players. Later, Mayhugh picked up his second caution of the group stage, which will force him to also miss the quarterfinal match.
The final 25 minutes were played mostly in the USA’s own half. Again the defense and Boyle held strong, with bodies flying in front of shots and Boyle coming up with three more saves to secure the group-winning result.
Up Next: The USA advances to the Quarterfinals and will play England on Sunday, July 14. England finished second in Group A with six points after falling to group winner, Brazil, 0-1 earlier on Friday. Fans can follow along on twitter @ussoccer_pnt and Instagram at @ussoccer_pnt.
NOTES:
- The USA has advanced to the Quarterfinals for fifth straight world finals, though first time as group winners.
- With wins over Iran and Finland, and tonight’s draw, this marks the USA’s first three-game unbeaten streak at this tournament.
- Head coach Stuart Sharp made four changes from the group that started the last match vs. Finland: Sean Boyle returned to goal and Seth Jahn, Josh Brunais and Jacob Kaplan each started their first game.
- Josh Brunais is the third player to wear the captain’s armband, following David Garza versus Iran and Tyler Bennett against Finland.
- All fourteen players started one of the three group matches, with Ballou, Bremer, DeLillo, Lindau and Mayhugh playing in all three games.
- Mayhugh now has eight goals in the World Cup, extending his USA record at a single tournament. He is the first USA player to score in three straight games since Josh McKinney and Marthell Vazquez scored in all three group games of the 2011 World Championship.
- Sunday’s match against England will be a rematch of the 2017 Quarterfinals, which England won 2-1 in San Luis, Argentina.
- The teams played two friendly matches in late May at St. George’s Park in Burton Upon Trent, England, drawing 3-3 on May 24 and 1-1 on May 30.
-U.S. Para 7-a-Side National Team Match Report-
Match: U.S. Para 7-a-Side National Team vs. Ireland
Date: July 12, 2019
Competition: 2019 IFCPF World Cup
Venue: Ciudad Deportiva Sevilla FC Cisneros Palacios, Sevilla, Spain
Kickoff: 1:10 p.m. ET
Attendance: TBA
Weather: 82 degrees, cloudy
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 1 0 1
IRL 0 1 1
USA – Nick Mayhugh 14th minute
IRL – Dillon Sheridan 36
Lineups:
USA: 1-Sean Boyle, 2-Cameron DeLillo (7-Adam Ballou, 56), 4-Jacob Kaplan, 5-Seth Jahn, 8-Drew Bremer (10-David Garza, 13), 13-Josh Brunais (capt), 9-Nick Mayhugh
Substitutes not used: 12-Carter Alvey, 3-Jacob Crumbley, 6-Ben Lindau, 11-Tyler Bennett (capt), 14-Shea Hammond
Head coach: Stuart Sharp
IRL: 1-Mark Barry, 2-Joe Markey, 6-Oisin Merritt, 7-Gary Messett (capt), 9-Ryan Nolan, 10-Dillon Sheridan, 14-Aaron Tier
Substitutes not used: 3-Darragh Byme, 4-Carl McKee, 5-Alan Moore, 8-James Naughton, 11-Sam Carroll, 12-Darragh Ruane, 13-Josh Treacy
Head coach: Paul Breen
Misconduct Summary:
USA – Seth Jahn (ejection) 37th minute
IRL – Oisin Merritt (caution) 37
USA – Nick Mayhugh (caution) 46
IRL – Ryan Nolan (caution) 47
Officials:
Referee: Rahimov
Second Referee: Haswell
Third Referee: Gamero
Fourth Official: Polkey