Sebastian Lleget competes in Team USA's friendly against Panama on Jan. 27, 2018 in Glendale, Ariz.
Sebastian Lletget was in just the right spot Saturday for his hometown in an emotional game.
With the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team and Costa Rica locked in a scoreless tie at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, California, Lletget, a native of San Francisco, headed in a ball in the 80th minute.
It was the second international goal for Lletget in seven caps and marked an emotional return to the stadium where he helped the U.S. win a World Cup qualifier in March 2017 but was seriously injured and didn’t play for a year. Lletget is a midfielder for the Los Angeles Galaxy and played youth games in nearby Santa Clara.
Paul Arriola of D.C. United added a second goal for the U.S. in the 88th minute for the 2-0 final.
The U.S. has won its first two games this year under new coach Gregg Berhalter. The Americans defeated Panama 3-0 in a Jan. 27 game. The will meet Ecuador on March 21 in Orlando, Florida.
The U.S. pressed Costa Rica offensively, especially in the second half when Americans twice hit the left goalpost before Lletget struck paydirt with his header.
Paul D. Bowker has been writing about Olympic sports since 1996, when he was an assistant bureau chief in Atlanta. He is sports editor of the Cape Cod Times and a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.