Jan. 15, 2005
University of Notre Dame sophomore Greg Dalby helped the U.S. Under-20 National Team defeat Panama 2-0 on Friday, Jan. 14, as the squad secured a spot in the FIFA World Youth Championship. The match on Friday, part of the CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., moved the U.S. team to 2-0 and put them in position to win their group for the first time ever.
Dalby played all 90 minutes in the hard-fought contest, holding the Panamanians to four shots on goal. Freddy Adu scored the first U.S. goal on a penalty kick in the 55th minute, while Jacob Peterson added an insurance goal in extra time.
A native of Poway, Calif., Dalby was named the 2002 Gatorade and Parade Magazine High School Player of the Year in 2002 and was a three-time prep All-American. With the Irish over the last two seasons, Dalby has played both central defender (in ’03) and central midfielder (’03-’04) while helping Notre Dame to two of its top defensive seasons in school history.
Dalby earned all-BIG EAST second-team honors in 2004 while starting all 19 matches (seeing 1574 minutes of action). He ended the year with one assist as the Irish compiled a 13-3-3 record, shutting out 11 opponents and nabbing the program’s first BIG EAST Conference regular-season title.
The U.S. team is now 2-0 in the tournament and will face Costa Rica on Sunday, Jan. 16, for their first-ever group title. Their trip to the FIFA World Youth Championship in Holland is assured, however, no matter the outcome of the Costa Rica loss. Dalby will make the trip to the 24-team tournament (June 10 – July 2) looking to help the U.S. improve on an impressive fifth-place finish at the 2003 World Youth Championship.
The tournament will take place at six venues in Holland with games in Doetinchem, Emmen, Enschede, Tilburg and Utrecht. Along with the U.S., 10 other teams have already booked a place at the world championship. Korea Republic, China PR, Japan and Syria are the Asian qualifiers and Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, Switzerland, Italy and Germany are from Europe.