Luis Gil and the U.S. U-23 National Team continued to tear through the competition at the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying tournament Tuesday in Commerce City, Colorado. Gil scored his second goal of the tournament and added his fourth assist as the U.S. stormed to a 4-0 win over Panama, scoring all four goals in the second half to finish the Group Stage with a 3-0-0 record, putting the Stars-and-Stripes in a good position heading into the semifinal round on Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium.
After a scoreless first half, the U.S. finally got on the board through an own-goal in the 50th minute. The U.S. played a dangerous ball in while on a run up the left side and Fidel Escobar deflected it into his own net to put the Americans in front 1-0.
In the 53rd minute, Gil set up Jerome Kiesewetter to double the lead at 2-0, then Kiesewetter continued his streaking combination with Jordan Morris to make it 3-0 in the 56th minute. With the game out of reach, Gil scored his second penalty of the tournament in the 71st minute for a convincing 4-0 win.
Along with Gil, RSL defender Boyd Okwuonu started his second consecutive match, going 90 minutes in the win.
With the results on Tuesday, the U.S. will advance as the top team in Group A, with Canada earning the second berth in the semifinals with a 1-1-1 record. The teams from Group B will be determined on Wednesday, as Mexico faces Honduras to determine seeding in the semifinal round. A win or a draw for Mexico would put El Tri in the top spot to face Canada, with Honduras then facing the U.S.
The U.S. U-23s will play for a spot in the Olympics on Saturday at 1 p.m. MT. Tickets are available at RSL.com or at the Rio Tinto Stadium box office.
