Mexico Men Defeat U.S. 6-3 in Front of 6,711

Stingy affair sees visitors prevail thanks to gritty effort, clinical finishing

Ontario, Calif. — A ruckus crowd of 6,711 watched the Mexico men defeat the United States men 6-3 on Sunday afternoon in part two of an international indoor doubleheader. After the El Tri women grabbed a 10-4 win over their rivals, the fans at Ontario’s Toyota Arena witnessed a much stingier affair in the day’s second match, with Mexico managing to score a trio of goals in the first three quarters. The two sides exchanged blows in the closing period, but the Stars and Stripes’ improved attacking urgency proved too little, too late for a comeback.

Former U.S. men’s national team ace Brek Shea and former LA Galaxy standout Marcelo Sarvas, a Brazilian American, enjoyed solid professional indoor debuts against the visitors from south of the border.

In the first period, U.S. goalkeeper Chris Toth showed why he is considered a legend of the sport, first stifling Charlie Gonzalez one on one and then doing the same to Hugo Puentes. However, Toth’s heroics on the second play would be to no avail, as Ismael Rojo collected the loose ball and rifled home the opener. Those in the stands had to wait until after halftime for the second tally, a determined Roberto Escalante winning the ball near the center circle and carrying it all the way into the opposition box before slotting home for a 2-0 lead.

After former Strykers attacker Gonzalez bagged his side’s third on a magnificent individual effort inside the third quarter, Mexico grabbed another tally in the game’s closing period, Carlos Hernandez smashing home a direct free kick. Team USA finally pulled one back on a beautiful move by Empire star Justin Stinson, who expertly passed the ball to himself off the boards and left backstop Christian Hernandez without a chance on the finish.

Any hope the goal might have inspired among the American players was extinguished when Hugo Puentes put El Tri up 5-1. Like Stinson on the previous score, the Chihuahua Savage forward put his mastery of the indoor game on display when he won possession with U.S. backstop Toth pushed up into the attack. Puentes’ long hit from midfield saw the ball bounce off the boards next to the left post and fall right to the feet of the onrushing Escoto, who tapped it into the open net.

The Red, White and Blue continued to put up a fight despite time running out, Strykers ace Stefan Mijatovic and Zach Reget of the Kansas City Comets making things somewhat more interesting with back-to-back tallies. After Mijatovic fired home the game’s second goal scored via direct free kick, Reget was in the right place at the right time to clean up on a parried effort by Empire legend Israel Sesay.

Rather than a come-from-behind miracle, those in attendance saw Mexico put the exclamation point on a hard-fought victory. Strykers star Marco Fabián picked out San Diego Sockers defender Cesar Cerda to help round out the final scoreline at 6-3.