Crew’s Gall scores hat trick in U.S. U-20 win over Aruba

The Columbus Crew’s Romain Gall scored three goals, all in the first half, and the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team defeated Aruba 8-0 in Group A play at the 2015 CONCACAF U-20 Championship at Independence Park.

Five other players contributed a goal apiece: Ben Spencer, Tommy Thompson, Emerson Hyndman, Bradford Jamieson IV and Amando Moreno. The U.S. built itself a 6-0 lead through the first 45 minutes.

With the victory, the USA is now 1-1-1 (4 points) in the tournament while Aruba falls to 0-3-0 (0 points). The U.S. moved into third place with one remaining Group A game to be played between Jamaica and Panama later Wednesday night.

The USA’s eight goals were the second-most in a match in this competition, trailing only a 9-0 victory against the Dominican Republic on Sept. 26, 1976, in the second round of the sixth CONCACAF Youth Tournament.

The USA had other ample chances to add to the score, but was hit with back-to-back offside calls in the 58th and 59th minutes while carrying a seven-goal cushion.

Wednesday’s game was the USA’s final match at Independence Park in Kingston. The U.S. now heads to Montego Bay for its two remaining group games against Jamaica on Jan. 18 and Trinidad & Tobago on Jan. 21. The upcoming USA-Jamaica match kicks off at 8 p.m. ET at the Montego Bay Sports Complex and will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 2 and Univision Deportes. Fans can also follow the action on Twitter @ussoccer_ynt and @ussoccer_esp.

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