Remember all those cute but critical headlines we used to see describing Freddy Adu’s career in America? You know, predictable puns like “Adu ready to bid adieu?” and “Much Adu About Nothing.” Well it’s time to get serious; the wunderkind is now working like an 18-year old grown man, and he’s on the verge of something big in Portugal.

Yesterday, Freddy netted home the game-winning goal in the 87th minute to lift a 10-man Benfica side over Maritimo and keep pace with league-leading FC Porto. Earlier in the week he bailed Benfica out with a game-tying goal against Setubal in injury time and then made an impressive appearance in Champions League play (not to mention his productive cameo for the U.S. MNT against Switzerland). Now the Portuguese press is hailing Freddy “The Miracle Boy” and “An American Hero.”

Of course, Freddy’s got a lot of work left to do if he wants to turn this love affair into a real relationship, but if he continues training hard and attacking each new challenge, than it seems like only a matter of time before we consistently see his name in Benfica’s starting lineup. Right now his role consists of coming off the bench late in the game and, like a magician, making something out of nothing. It’s tough circumstances, yes, but at least he’s getting those T90s dirty with game-action, and it certainly makes him an even greater asset to the national team in the immediate present. We’ve never had that type of talent ready to jump off the bench.

With the rain coming down hard in Portland for the entire day, it was a seemingly bleek evening to play 90 minutes of soccer. Well, Mother Nature did not discourage any fans from coming out to support their United States Womens National Soccer Team take on Mexico - in fact, 10,000 fans were not discouraged at all.

For both teams, the 12th man of the match was the rock-hard artificial surface. Passes were not regular, and the bounces were crazy. This made for a very fast-paced game, in addition to it already being wet. However, after playing through a Typhoon in China, this was not a big headache for the USA.



The first half of the game was played steadily in the middle of the field, with a handful of breakout plays here and there. Abby had a few 1-on-2 chances to take on the Mexican defenders, but she wasn't able to power through the line by herself. Speaking of Ms. Wambach, she was honored before the game for earning her 100th career cap with the team. She also wore the coveted Captain armband throughout this game. Congratulations Abby!

Back to the game. 1st half, injury time, corner kick by Lil, slid through goalies hands, over the goal-line, confusion, goal? After a few moments of chatting between the referees, it was determined that yes, it was a goal! 1-0 USA.

The second goal emerged from a combination between our girls Cat, Tarp, and Abby. In the 76th minute, Cat hit a free kick directly onto the head of Lindsay Tarpley in which she flicked up and over everybody in the box, directly to the feet of Abby Wambach. All the work was already done, so she simply passed the ball into the net. Goal. 2-0 USA.



The floodgates opened for the U.S., and up next was a finish by our favorite Hawaiian, Natasha Kai. She was at the right place, at the right time - ready for Carli Lloyd's rebound in front of the goal. Her victory dance got the entire team off of the bench, laughing, cheering, and joining in on the dancing.

With a quick substitution off of the bench, Carli had been in for a few minutes - three to be exact - before she had her first shot on goal. From a beautiful pass fom Cat, Carli jumped to let the ball slide off her head and easily into the goal. Goal. 4-0 USA! Minutes after she scores, Carli was cracked in the face with an elbow, but kept on playing. As Abby said after the game, "You have to come out every day and you have to perform. Limping around or not, we need to get the job done.”

Can the U.S. WNT continue the winning streak against their 3-game series against Mexico? Follow Saturday's game on US Soccer's Matchtracker, live at 4:30 EST. Or, if you're lucky enough to live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, support your team and cheer them on in person!

While the United States WNT has been the center of attention recently, the U.S. MNT coaching staff have kept busy tracking player development at home and abroad. It’s a tough task with more and more Americans scattered around the world’s top leagues and the country’s best clubs. The most efficient response is probably to have all the talent come to you, which is what happened last week at The US Soccer Development Academy’s Fall Showcase, but for the senior national team the program goes to the players.



Our team has mixed in some fresh faces with the European-based vets for this weeks training camp before Wednesday’s friendly against Switzerland. Some guys on the roster you might never have heard of before.

U-20 standouts Sal Zizzo, Danny Szetela, and Freddy Adu, all of whom have begun their careers in either Germany or Spain, get a chance to reunite with teammate Mike Bradley (whose just about the youngest veteran imaginable) after their performance in Canada this summer. Benny’s now one of the offensive leaders in the midfield, along with DaMarcus, whose been getting the job done - and in style - with Rangers recently. In his first game with the fresh blue boots, a Champions League match against Lyon, Beas notched a goal and an assist in a 3-0 Rangers win. The Fulham boys, Dempsey and Bocanegra, are in camp too, helping things out on the leadership side of things.

With MLS still going strong, one man you won’t be seeing is Landon Donovan. But that doesn’t mean he’s been forgotten about. Last week LD won his fourth Honda Player of the Year award. If it wasn’t before, the jury is now definitively out: he’s the best. All-time assist leader, momentarily tied for all-time goal scorer. It’s reassuring to know that he’ll be the link in this period of transition.

Check out the game this Wednesday, on FSC and Galavision at 2:30pm EST. But if you're an American Outlaw (pictured below), we'll see you there!

The U.S. WNT took third place on Sunday with a resounding 4-1 win over the familiar Norway team. Abby poached her way to the first two US goals before Chalupny and O’Reilly finished the job.

Victories in consolation matches are always bittersweet, but it was important to leave China playing our type of attacking, composed soccer. The U.S. team has learned so many lessons this September, and in the many months leading up to the competition. Reflecting on how the week’s events changed the team, Cat had this to say post-game, “We grew stronger. We took the tradition that we had on this team and I think we made it stronger today. It means a lot for me to send a Bri Scurry, a Kristine Lilly and a Christie Rampone and a Kate Markgraf out—if it’s their last World Cup—to send them out on this kind of note. As a young team we learned that tradition does matter and we need to carry it as much as we can.” Good to know the future leaders of the WNT understand that one loss doesn’t erase nearly two decades of dominance.

The squad is now getting ready to come home for a three-game October sendoff tour against Mexico. If you happen to be near St. Louis, Portland or Albuquerque, try your best to give our US team the welcome home they deserve.