Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey scored in the first half as the U.S. men’s national soccer team defeated Panama 2-0 in an exhibition Sunday at StubHub Center, ending a five-game winless streak.
Former Montclair High and UCLA standout Nick Rimando made two first-half saves and Sean Johnson did not need to make a save in the second half to complete the shutout in front of a crowd announced at 20,271.
Bradley scored on a 27th-minute penalty kick.
Dempsey took a pass from Gyasi Zardes, drove past Panamanian goalkeeper Jaime Penedo and put a shot from seven yards out into an unguarded net for his 40th goal in international play, joining Landon Donovan as the only U.S. men’s national team players to reach that milestone.
The U.S. led 6-5 in shots and 5-2 in shots on goal.
Penedo, who plays for Major League Soccer‘s Los Angeles Galaxy, made three saves in his 100th appearance for Panama.
The U.S. starting lineup included eight players from the 2014 FIFA World Cup team — Rimando; Jozy Altidore and Dempsey as forwards; Bradley and Mix Diskerud in the midfield; and defenders Matt Besler, Jermaine Jones and DeAndre Yedlin.
Two players with Southern California connections made their first national team starts — Zardes, a forward who attended Leuzinger High School and now plays for the Galaxy — and midfielder Miguel Ibarra, who played at Lancaster High School and UC Irvine and now plays with Minnesota United FC of the second-division North American Soccer League.
Zardes was credited with an assist on Dempsey’s goal.
Ibarra played the first 79 minutes before being replaced by Lee Nguyen.
A third player who played on the high school or club level in Los Angeles or Orange counties also played, midfielder Luis Gil (Pateadores), who entered the game in the 81st minute, replacing Dempsey.
Two players made their national team debuts — Perry Kitchen, who replaced Diskerud in the 72nd minute, and fellow defender Matt Hedges, who came in for Yedlin, who had to leave the game in the 68th minute because of a right knee sprain.
The U.S. five-game winless streak was its longest since a similar streak in 2007.
The U.S. is 27th in the rankings issued by FIFA, soccer’s worldwide governing body. Panama is 55th.
The U.S. is 12-1-2 against Panama, winning each of the last six games. The lone U.S. loss came on June 11, 2011, in a CONCACAF Gold Cup game in Tampa, Fla.
— City News Service