In David, we trust. 

David Ochoa recorded nine saves and the USA held on for a 1-0 win over Costa Rica in the opening game from the 2021 Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying. FC Dallas forward Jesús Ferreira scored the lone goal off an assist from left back Sam Vines in the 34th minute. 

The goalkeeper from Oxnard, California was the story of the day though. Ochoa was, perhaps, a bit of a surprise as the starter in the game. Fox Soccer announcer Stu Holden said during the broadcast that head coach Jason Kreis was anticipating starting JT Marcinkowski in the important opening tilt against Costa Rica. 

However, the coach said that Ochoa, who is the youngest of the three goalkeepers on the roster, looked the most ready during the past week of training, so he earned the starting spot on Thursday. The Real Salt Lake goalkeeper rewarded his coach with a confident performance on a busy day against a strong Costa Rica side that happily took advantage of some haphazard passing from the USA. 

📹 Here are the best moments of today's match between @USYNT 🇺🇸 and 🇨🇷 @fedefutbolcrc! 🏆#CMOQ pic.twitter.com/BCERe1J41N

— Concacaf (@Concacaf) March 18, 2021

USA tried to shock Costa Rica from the opening whistle with a high-intensity, all-out press. The plan to steal a goal in the opening five minutes worked. Ferreira had a golden chance in the second minute after he picked the ball off the foot of Fernán Faerron, but his shot hit off the post. 

The pace from USA was not sustainable in the heat and altitude of Guadalajara and the game settled for both sides. Costa Rica’s game plan was to make USA’s center backs the key to the attack. Costa Rica forward Manfred Ugalde dropped his line of pressure to track Jackson Yueill and leave Mauricio Pineda and Justen Glad with plenty of time on the ball. 

The two center backs were not accurate with their passes over range. Glad gave away a couple of balls through the center of the field during the game. Pineda’s pocket was picked in the 17th minute, which required a block from Ochoa to deny the chance. Pineda also struggled with long distance passes, as a few of his sailed off the field. The announcer attributed the wayward passing to the altitude, even though it did not seem to effect Ochoa or Costa Rica’s passing much in the game. 

Defensively, Glad and Pineda were immense. Glad, in particular, made a couple of outstanding tackles. Pineda won a number of aerial duels late in the contest to shutdown chances for Costa Rica. Glad was a weapon in the attack for USA. He had a chance off a corner from Djordje Mihailovic that he nearly directed on net, but missed just wide. 

If the center back duo can improve their distribution and find a way to utilize the midfielders on the ball, the USA will be in much better shape through the rest of group play. 

USA’s goal came off the play of Hassani Dotson, Vines, and Ferreira. Pineda played the ball wide to Vines, the left back who found plenty of success in the attack in the first half. The Rapids defender whipped in a cross that Dotson tracked well with his run, but a challenge from a Costa Rica defender helped the ball onto Ferreira who was sitting alone at the far post. He smashed it home for the lone tally of the game. 

USA went into the break with the advantage, but it could have been doubled in the closing seconds of the half. Right back Aaron Herrera skated past a couple of tackles near the attacking end line and played in a cross that skipped past goalkeeper Kevin Chamorro, but no attacking player from the USA made the run to the far post. The chance was cleared from danger. 

Costa Rica came out on the front foot in the second half, and it required an exquisite save from Ochoa to deny the equalizer. Ochoa made a leaping one-hand effort to parry away a shot bound for the lower corner of the goal, his sixth save of the game. 

Ferreira, probably, should’ve sealed the game in the 65th minute on another 1v1 chance against Chamorro. The play started with Dotson who worked back to win the ball for USA and then immediately started the counter. Dotson combined with Lewis down the right touch, and then the Minnesota United midfielder picked out a great pass to Ferreira for an opportunity against the unbalanced Costa Rica defense. Ferreira’s first touch let him down some, but he recovered and got a shot off. Chamorro, off his line, denied the chance with an outstretched arm. 

“We knew we had to start the tournament strong,” Ferreira said after the match during the broadcast. “We took what we did on the training field and we got the three points.”

USA finished the game with only two shots on target, including the goal. Both teams hit the woodwork once in the game. 

“We had clear chances,” Costa Rica coach Douglas Sequiera said in the postgame press conference. “In the second half, we dominated the game.”

Ochoa closed the game with a few more saves, and USA held the line to claim the victory and sit at the top of Group A. During this edition of the tournament, two teams from each group advance to the semifinal round. The winning teams from the semifinal earn a berth to the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo. 

USA is back in action on Sunday at 3:30 pm (PT) against Dominican Republic, which faced off against Mexico on Thursday.

Photo: twitter.com/concacaf