Porter on U.S./England 1-1 draw in the World Cup

Published in the Akron Beacon Journal on June 13, 2010
United States 1, England 1
Early goal doesn't break Americans 
World Cup Analysis with University of Akron men’s soccer coach Caleb Porter:
ABJ: What did you see that you liked?
CP: “I really liked the way we came out with a very aggressive and confident mentality. I give credit to [U.S. coach Bob] Bradley and respect the fact that we came out with a very attack oriented lineup and shape. I thought overall, even after we gave up the goal [to England’s Steven Gerrard], we kept playing, kept fighting and kept pushing numbers forward and attacking. [U.S. goalkeeper] Tim Howard was tremendous on the day and came up big several times to preserve the draw. I think getting the tie was a very positive result going into the next two games with Slovenia and Algeria. We are in control of our own destiny in terms of advancing to the knockout stage.”
ABJ: What did you see that you did not like?
CP: “Initially, I thought we played too high of a line. We came out and pushed our lines a little too high and opened up too much. That goal was disappointing. That was a not a good start, obviously. We showed a lot of resiliency and character to come back and get a draw.”
ABJ: What were your thoughts on the goal scored by American Clint Dempsey?
CP: “When England gave up the soft goal, it kind of rattled of them. They seemed tentative. It looked like they froze up and were not very comfortable. It was a routine play where [England goal keeper Robert Green] took his eye off the ball, and the ball trickled past him and into the goal. That was the turning point of the game. They made a costly mistake and we capitalized on it.