U.S. Men’s CP National Team Defeat Scotland 3-0 in World Cup Preparation Friendly
Shea Hammond Bags a Brace with Frankie Lowery Adding Another; Four Players Made their International Debuts
DUBLIN, Ireland (September 27, 2004) - The U.S. Men’s Cerebral Palsy (CP) National Team defeated Scotland 3-0 in a friendly Friday afternoon at the AUL Complex in Dublin, Ireland. Shea Hammond and Frankie Lowery put the U.S. up 2-0 before the break and Hammond added his second minutes into the second half to complete the scoring.
The game saw midfielder Ben Lindau wear the captain’s armband for the first time in place of Josh Brunais, who was injured during training in Dublin earlier in the week. It also marked the international debuts for midfielders Kyle Montgomery and Michael Ruiz, forward Gavin Kohner, and goalkeeper Brixton Blasi - on his 18th birthday.
Head Coach Stuart Sharp started an experienced first seven - all from the side that won the Bronze Medal at the Parapan American Games last November in Chile. John Sullivan dropped to the back alongside Lowery, with Wes Pincince joining Lindau in the middle. Cameron DeLillo partnered with Hammond up top.
It was Scotland that had the first threat of the game early on when winger Kerr McKenzie broke down the left side and hit a shot just wide as Estrella read the play and covered the near post.
The U.S. then took control - and the lead - after four minutes. Sullivan made an overlapping run down the right side and received the ball inside the area. Hammond anticipated the play and made a run to the near post, receiving Sullivan’s pass and re-directing it first-time to the far side net to open the scoring.
Sullivan continued to push the pace from behind, while Lindau directed from the middle.
After a few near-misses from Sullivan and DeLillo, Lindau hit a blast from 20 yards out that Scottish goalkeeper Chris Moore tipped just over the crossbar.
The U.S. doubled its lead midway through the half. DeLillo was fouled as he advanced the ball right of center some 25 yards from goal. Lowery - just two days after his 20th birthday - confidently asked for the ball, stepped up and curled a left-footed shot around the wall and into the side net for his third international goal.
Shortly after the second half whistle, DeLillo sprung Lowery down the left with a nice cross-field pass. Lowery then sent a diagonal ball forward into the area, where Shea received and turned, but was denied by a quick slide from Moore. The ball rebounded out for a throw-in, which the U.S. patiently turned into its third goal. The throw went back to Estrella in goal, who distributed to Pincince on the left, then to Lowery up-field, and to DeLillo - who took it to the endline and cut it back to the near post where Hammond put it away for his 17th career goal.
Sharp then stuck to his plan to observe different players and combinations. By the final whistle, all eight available substitutes had entered the match. One was Nick Mayhugh, who made his first appearance since August 31, 2019 in his first game back since excelling in track at the Tokyo and Paris Paralympics games.
The game was the team’s first since last November’s Bronze Medal win over Venezuela in Chile, which the U.S. also won 3-0, also with two goals from Shea and one from Lowery. The team will next play host side Republic of Ireland, on Sunday, September 29 to close out the week of training and friendlies before November’s IFCPF World Cup.
-U.S. MEN’S CP NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT-
Match: United States Men’s CP National Team vs. Scotland
Date: September 27, 2024
Competition: CP International Friendly Series
Venue: AUL Complex, Dublin, Ireland
Kickoff: 9 a.m. ET (3 p.m. local)
Weather: 48 degrees; Cloudy
| Scoring Summary | 1 | 2 | F |
| USA | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| SCO | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| USA - Shea Hammond (John Sullivan) | 4th minute |
| USA - Frankie Lowery (Jacob Crumbley) | 17 |
| USA - Shea Hammond (Cameron DeLillo) | 34 |
Lineups:
USA: 12-Marc Estrella (1-Brixton Blasi, 54’, 2-Frankie Lowery (7-Chileshe Chitulangoma, 48), 10-Ben Lindau (Captain) (8-Michael Ruiz, 58), 5-John Sullivan (15-Kyle Montgomery, 54), Wes Pincince (3-Jacob Crumbley, 37; 11-Kevin McCandlish, 58), 9-Cameron DeLillo (17-Nick Mayhugh, 37), Shea Hammond (16-Gavin Kohner, 54)
Substitutes not used: none
Head Coach: Stuart Sharp
SCO: 1-Chris Moore, 3-Will Arahan, 4-Jon McFarlane (7-James McAlpine, 31), 8-Jamie Mitchel (3-Will Graham, 52), 11-Kerr McKenzie (6-Logan Smith, 44), 18-Matthew Wynne (Captain), 20-Dean Thornton (9-Sean Millership, 31)
Substitutes not used: none
Head coach: Billy McAdam
Misconduct Summary:
None