Chicago Fire midfielder Dax McCarty capped his 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup experience by raising the championship trophy following the United States' 2-1 victory over Jamaica in the final Wednesday night.
Playing in front of a crowd of 63,032 at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., the U.S. took a 1-0 lead shortly before halftime on a tremendous free kick goal by Jozy Altidore, the Toronto FC forward's 39th goal in a USMNT shirt.
But a game Jamaica side -- which upset Mexico, 1-0, in the tournament semifinals -- leveled the score shortly after the start of the second half when Je-Vaughn Watson one-timed a corner kick service past U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard.
The match turned into a wide-open affair through much of the second half, with Seattle Sounders teammates Jordan Morris and Clint Dempsey each having attempts on goal narrowly saved by Jamaica goalkeeper Dwayne Miller. Miller was a first-half substitute for Jamaica manager Theodore Whitmore after starter and Philadelphia Union GK Andre Blake was forced to exit with a hand injury less than a half hour into the match.
The U.S. continued to press into the game's late stages, however, and eventually it was Dempsey setting up Morris in the penalty area for a shot that was hammered past Miller, standing up as the game-winner in the 88th minute.
McCarty entered the match as a late substitute following the goal, closing out the game for his 12th career cap with the U.S. Men's National Team, and made sure to document the experience from the postgame trophy presentation:
The Fire standout and MLS All-Star is expected to rejoin his club ahead of an upcoming league match
at Sporting KC this Saturday
(7 p.m. CT, CSN Chicago Plus).
