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U.S. Defeats Costa Rica, 2-0, to Win 2002 Gold Cup

2/2/02 - PASADENA, Calif. (Saturday, February 2, 2002) - The United States scored a goal in each half in winning the 2002 Gold Cup Final, 2-0, today over Costa Rica, as the U.S. extended their defensive excellence with its fourth consecutive shutout.

Josh Wolff's fourth career international goal gave the U.S. a 1-0 lead going into halftime and Jeff Agoos added his first goal since 1996 off a beautifully-taken free kick to give the U.S. insurance. The defense, backed by goalkeeper Kasey Keller, continued its strong run through the Gold Cup. The U.S. yielded just one goal in the five game competition, coming in their first match, a 2-1 win over Korea on January 19. The U.S. outscored their opposition 9 to 1 on their run to the title. Brian McBride led all scorers in the tournament with four goals and took home honors as the Gold Cup MVP. McBride was joined on the Best XI - named before the final - by teammates Jeff Agoos and Landon Donovan.

The tournament championship is the second for the U.S., having previously captured the title in the inaugural Gold Cup in 1991. The U.S. improved to 4-0 against Costa Rica in the Gold Cup, and the teams are now even at 9-9-4 against each other in 22 all-time meetings.

The U.S. men will return to action against Italy with a friendly on Feb. 13. The roster for that match will be announced later this week and will likely include a mixture of European-based stars along with standouts from this squad.

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