Amidst all the chance taking place off the field, the intentions of the annual January camp of the United States men’s national team were achieved over this past week.
Over these last two matches in Los Angeles, the objective for the USMNT is to give new players, primarily younger players, the opportunity to make their case for a prolonged stay on the team. This could not have more pronounced this week, as 12 players earned their first caps for the USMNT. The one young player that stood out for the USMNT in Saturday’s friendly against Colombia was Paxton Aaronson, as the match ended in a scoreless draw.
“It was a game full of transitions, quick game and I felt in the first half there was a lot more back and forth,” USMNT interim head coach Anthony Hudson said. “We changed a few things at halftime to get a little bit stability, but it was a really good test for our players, especially some of the younger guys, this will be great experience for them.”
Aaronson, the brother of Brendan Aaron of Leeds United, was active throughout the match, getting behind the Colombia back line numerous times and finding himself in dangerous positions. Aaronson got his first scoring chance in the sixth minute, as Walker Zimmerman sent a long ball forward, Matthew Hoppe brought the ball down, then played it for a trailing Aaronson, who took the shot, but was saved by keeper Alvaro Montero. The 14th minute was perhaps Aaronson’s best chance, as he was unmarked inside the penalty area took a shot on goal, but the shot was blocked and went off the left post and out for a corner kick.
“I thought I played a pretty good game,” Aaronson said. “It’s a great start for me, I’m excited, grateful for the opportunity for me and hopefully, I can continue to grow.”
Colombia had several chances to score themselves early in the first half. Dylan Borrero sprung Juan David Mosquera for goal in the 15th minute, DeJuan Jones stayed with Mosquera, who made a cutting move, and looked to find Yilmar Velasquez at the back post, but the pass was not strong enough and keeper Sean Johnson easily collected the ball. Two minutes later, Velasquez pounced on a poor clearance attempt and had the ball inside the penalty area and tried to beat Johnson far post, but his slow rolling shot just missed said back post.
