{"id":6159,"date":"2011-09-03T02:48:47","date_gmt":"2011-09-03T06:48:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=6159"},"modified":"2011-09-03T02:48:47","modified_gmt":"2011-09-03T06:48:47","slug":"player-ratings-u-s-men%e2%80%99s-national-team-vs-costa-rica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=6159","title":{"rendered":"Player Ratings: U.S. Men\u2019s National Team vs. Costa Rica"},"content":{"rendered":"

After each match the contributors to New England Soccer Today will rate the performances of the United States National Team players who made an appearance on a 1 to 10 scale (1 horrendous, 5 average, 10 perfection). This week Brian O\u2019Connell, Julian Cardillo, and Sean Donahue contributed ratings for the\u00a0USA\u2019s 1-0 friendly loss to Costa Rica<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Tim Howard<\/strong> \u2013 Average Rating: 6.33<\/strong> (Brian 6, Julian 6.5, Sean 6.5)<\/p>\n

Nice initial save before Wallace\u2019s easy finish; hard to fault him on Wallace goal. Performance deserved a clean sheet. (Brian) \u2026 Made some good saves and was unlucky to be left out to dry on Costa Rica\u2019s goal after stopping the first chance. (Julian) \u2026 Made a fantastic save on Michael Barrantes, nothing he could do on Wallace\u2019s rebound, though he somehow almost got to that too. A couple of other strong saves a well. Good performance. (Sean)<\/p>\n

Timmy Chandler<\/strong> \u2013 Average Rating: 5.5<\/strong> (Brian 5.5, Julian 5.5, Sean 5.5)<\/p>\n

Smart defending and good runs up the flank but wasn\u2019t exactly shutdown when isolated. (Brian) \u2026 Not a bad outing for the young defender, looked calm, cool, and collected in first half but seemed to labor second half a bit. (Julain) \u2026 Solid outing defensively, outside of getting beat by Barrantes on the goal, and looked decent going forward. Steve Cherundolo\u2019s spot isn\u2019t under threat yet. (Sean)<\/p>\n

Michael Orozco<\/strong> \u2013 Average Rating: 4.33<\/strong> (Brian 5, Julian 4, Sean 4)<\/p>\n

Played marginally better than his counterpart; was victimized on Saborio pass that eventually led to the Wallace goal. (Brian) \u2026 There seem to be better options to choose from. Left a lot of open space and didn\u2019t communicate well with fellow defenders. Kept many Costa Rican chances onside. (Julian) \u2026 Looked shaky when tested, including a few poor touches that nearly cost the U.S. Positioning wasn\u2019t great. Where\u2019s Omar Gonzalez? How about giving Zak Whitbread a chance? (Sean)<\/p>\n

Carlos Bocanegra<\/strong> \u2013 Average Rating: 5.33<\/strong> (Brian 5.5, Julian 5.5, Sean 5)<\/p>\n

Most reliable defender, but he was burned on the Costa Rican buildup on the goal. (Brian) \u2026 Surprised not to see Bocanegra more involved with scuffles on the field as he is the captain. Not bad defensively, some lapses. Did not do too well with Orozco. (Julian) \u2026 Average performance. Couldn\u2019t make up for the weaknesses surrounding him. (Sean)<\/p>\n

Edgar Castillo<\/strong> \u2013 Average Rating: 4.17<\/strong> (Brian 4.5, Julian 4, Sean 4)<\/p>\n

Did little to thwart the Ticos attack; poor shot in the 53rd; still needs to establish a rapport with Howard (Brian) \u2026 Better from Castillo compared to the Mexico game, but if he\u2019s going to overlap, he needs to find his left foot. (Julian) \u2026 Offered little going forward and didn\u2019t look too comfortable defending. (Sean)<\/p>\n

Maurice Edu<\/strong> \u2013 Average Rating: 5.33<\/strong> (Brian 5, Julian 5.5, Sean 5.5)<\/p>\n

Tackle near midfield in was dangerous; all but invisible when Costa Rica counterattacked. (Brian) \u2026 Probably the most consistent guy on the field tonight. Did well to help out defense, but not so involved in attack. (Julian) \u2026 Did well as the U.S. anchor in the first half, but didn\u2019t do enough to break up the Costa Rica attacks when the visitors began to take control in the second half. (Sean)<\/p>\n

Jose Torres<\/strong> \u2013 Average Rating: 6.17<\/strong> (Brian 7, Julian 5, Sean 6.5)<\/p>\n

Shined all night with crisp passes; added creativity and bite to the attack. (Brian) \u2026 Looks better in central midfield than on the wing, but needs to find chemistry in the middle. Seemed to really labor after 30 minute mark. (Julian) \u2026 One of his better performances in a U.S. shirt. Looked strong getting forward and combined well with the rest of the offense. (Sean)<\/p>\n

Landon Donovan<\/strong> \u2013 Average Rating: 5.5<\/strong> (Brian 6, Julian 5, Sean 5.5)<\/p>\n

Should\u2019ve buried that early chance; however, his service was sensational all night. (Brian) \u2026 Didn\u2019t really create much. Should have finished chance in first half. Was kept very quiet by Costa Rica, as he was not allowed to run at defense. (Julian) \u2026 Wasn\u2019t a bad performance as he created a few chances, but the expectations are so high from Donovan that you expect more from him after the U.S. fell behind. (Sean)<\/p>\n

Robbie Rogers<\/strong> \u2013 Average Rating: 4.67<\/strong> (Brian 5, Julian 4.5, Sean 4.5)<\/p>\n

Made some nice runs, but looked slow on the ball. Has to be sharper, both on the ball and with his decision-making. (Brian) \u2026 Looked lost at points of game and his crosses and passes were off. Positioning was okay at best. (Julian) \u2026 Weak effort from Rogers who failed to make his mark on the game. His passing was off and he struggled to get involved. (Sean)<\/p>\n

Brek Shea<\/strong> \u2013 Average Rating: 6<\/strong> (Brian 6, Julian 5.5, Sean 6.5)<\/p>\n

Good vision and quality on passes; played confidently; seems to thrive under Klinsmann\u2019s guidance. (Brian) \u2026 Should have done more to use the wings. When he used the wing he was dangerous, when he didn\u2019t he didn\u2019t create much havoc for Costa Rica. Up and down game for Brek. (Julian) \u2026 A constant threat when he gets the ball. Shea, not Donovan, spearheaded the U.S. attack and is proving he belongs at this level. (Sean)<\/p>\n

Jozy Altidore<\/strong> \u2013 Average Rating: 5.5<\/strong> (Brian 6, Julian 4.5, Sean 6)<\/p>\n

Nice cohesion with Donovan and Shea; needed to time his runs a little better, but otherwise, a solid performance all around. (Brian) \u2026 He\u2019s a striker? Poor positioning, caught offside too many times. (Julian) \u2026 Could see the increased confidence from his good club form. Did better holding up the ball that we\u2019ve seen in the past and combined well with the midfield. Just needs to keep a better eye on the offside line at times. (Sean)<\/p>\n

(sub) Juan Agudelo<\/strong> \u2013 Average Rating: 5.67<\/strong> (Brian 5.5, Julian 5.5, Sean 6)<\/p>\n

Broke into the box on a few occasions, but was overpowered by Costa Rica\u2019s physical defending. (Brian) \u2026 Looked great as a sub, but needs to be developed more so that he takes his chances better. Kept pressure on Costa Rican defense and tried his hardest to make an impression despite being the lone forward. (Julian) \u2026 Provided a great spark off the bench. Good movement off the ball. (Sean)<\/p>\n

(sub) Sacha Kljestan<\/strong> \u2013 Average Rating: 4.83<\/strong> (Brian 5, Julian 4, Sean 5.5)<\/p>\n

Made some nice off the ball runs, but allowed himself to be baited into a dumb yellow card. (Brian) \u2026 Just didn\u2019t give the U.S the spark they needed after going down a goal. Didn\u2019t show much. (Julian) \u2026 Good runs and looked dangerous with the ball at his feet. Aided in some of the U.S. offensive forays late in the match. (Sean)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 1-0 loss to Costa Rica left some question marks on defense.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6160,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nesoccertoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/agudelofeature2.jpg?fit=490%2C225","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6159"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6159"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6161,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6159\/revisions\/6161"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}