San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Sam Cronin will train with the US
Men's National Team in Los Angeles through a January 22 friendly against
Chile. For more information about tickets to that match and about the
USMNT camp, visit USSoccer.com. Also, take a look at in-depth coverage on the USMNT Blog.
Howdy Folks,
Happy Friday. So, with 17 days of camp now in the rearview mirror, the team is starting to look strong and ready for our match against Chile on Saturday night at The Home Depot Center.
As I reported in my last blog, the initial 10 days of camp primarily consisted of small-sided games. Since then, we have opened up the field with bigger games, including an inner-squad scrimmage and game against the Canadian Under-23 team.
The highlight of the inner-squad scrimmage happened early in the game when D.C. United midfielder Dax McCarty finished a bicycle kick in the top corner.
I hate to do this to you Dax, but I must make it known that I saw his eyes close just as he jumped. Nevertheless, it was a once-in-a-lifetime goal and kudos to Dax.
Unluckily, I strained my quad during this game and was forced to watch the last ten minutes from the sideline. I have spent much of the last week trying to balance the difficult task of giving my quad adequate rest while also testing its strength to see if I would be ready to play against Chile. One of those test days was during my 45-minute spell against Canada.
The coaching staff split the players up into two teams for that game, with most guys only playing 45 minutes. I played the first half and our group went into halftime with a 2-0 lead with goals from Mikkel Diskerud and Teal Bunbury.
At halftime, we brought a whole new team on who continued to control the game with goals from Alejandro Bedoya and you know who, Mr. Wondo. Wondo is looking sharp and hopefully he can bag a goal or two on Saturday night against Chile.
Overall, the team is definitely ready for the challenge against Chile. I, unfortunately, will be watching from the stands as the training staff has ruled me out for the game due to my quad injury.
It is difficult not to be eligible to play, but I do realize this is not the time of year to chance a nagging injury before the MLS season begins. But the team is ready to go and excited to show off all the work we have put in throughout this camp.
I need to give a special shout out to the newest Quakes: Steven Lenhart, Anthony Ampaipitakwong, Phillip Tuttle and Victor Cortez. I look forward to meeting you guys and getting started with preseason.
Be sure to tune in to the game Saturday night. You won’t want to miss Wondo get his first cap…and goal.
See you soon, Quakes.
