University of North Carolina Athletics
Loyd, McCarty Shine For USMNT
January 26, 2011 | Men's Soccer
Jan. 26, 2011
CARSON, Calif. - Making his first appearance with the U.S. men's soccer national team Zach Loyd earned Man of the Match honors in the U.S.'s 1-1 draw with Chile Saturday in Carson, Calif. Fellow Tar Heel Dax McCarty also performed well while serving as the team's captain. The duo will hope to get the call for the next U.S. friendly on Feb. 9 in Cairo, Egypt.
"As a coaching staff we were just saying that we are starting to get to know these guys, and for the most part we saw a lot of what we know," head coach Bob Bradley said. "When you talk about positives, for example we know that Zach Loyd is a very good competitor, so playing left back his pure ability to compete on plays in that part of the field and everything I thought was excellent. You see it in training, but now it gets put to the test and it's great when it comes out during the game."
Loyd and McCarty were part of the starting 11 with Loyd starting at left back and McCarty getting the call in the midfield. McCarty nearly put the Americans ahead in the early going when he blasted a dipping ball from 35 yards out that Chile's Paulo Garces parried away.
"Bob gave me a little bit more freedom to kind of express myself going forward a little bit more. Certainly in the first half, Chile had a little bit more possession than us, so I was trying to stay a little bit more disciplined defensively," Dax McCarty said.
Chile got on the board first in the 53rd minute when Esteban Paredes brought down a cross from Felipe Seymour and struck an impressive shot from close range. The U.S. equalized in the 75th minute after Juan Agudelo was tripped up in the penalty area by the Chilean defense. Teal Bunbury stepped up and buried the penalty kick, slotting it into the lower right corner for the first goal of his national team career.
"The first five to 10 minutes it's really fast. It was my first cap, and I was all excited and after that you just get relaxed and your teammates are always talking to you and giving you confidence along the way," Zach Loyd said. "I'm thankful that I had the guys around me that I did tonight, and hopefully I can continue to go forward."
Loyd and McCarty will now head to FC Dallas and D.C. United for MLS training camp in the coming weeks before a potential call up for the Feb. 9 friendly against Egypt in Cairo.
