The United States men’s national soccer team faced off against Scotland in an International Friendly match on Saturday night in Jacksonville, Florida.
The U.S. came out on top with a big win at 5-1 with the only blemish of an own goal, at the 15-minute mark.
Led by Landon Donovan, the team cruised by Scotland in dominating fashion. Donovan recorded a hat trick in the match and also added an assist.
The home team almost immediately got off to a perfect start as they scored in just three minutes.
Jose Torres forced a turnover at midfield which led to Donovan getting the ball inside the box with a chance to score. The first shot was deflected only to find its way back to Donovan who got the rebound and put the shot into the back of the net.
At the 10-minute mark, Michael Bradley came out with a laser shot from  just outside of the 18-yard box that hooked just inside of the post for goal number two, with the assist coming from Jermaine Jones.
The U.S. only crucial mistake came in the 17-minute mark as backline defender Geoff Cameron came into the path of a header shot from Scotland’s Kenny Miller which bounced off Cameron’s chest and rolled into the net,  giving Scotland their first point of the game. The United States went into half-time with a 2-1 lead over Scotland
In the second half, Donovan again found paydirt when Jones played a low ball across field and connected for his second goal of the game, also giving Jones his second assist for the evening.
Shortly after the goal, Donovan bagged his hat trick in the 64-minute mark. This time it was Bradley slipping through the defense to find Donovan for his third goal of the night. Donovan also recorded his 47th, 48th, and his 49th career national team goals, which is most in U.S. men’s team history.
Jermaine Jones capped off his stellar night with a goal at the 70-minute mark from Donovan, who crossed the ball to Jones, who snapped his head into the ball into the open right-side of the net to make the lead 5-1.
With such a lead, both teams played out the rest of the game as if it was a practice. Scotland knew  a comeback victory was all but impossible and finished the 20 minutes remaining.
So that is how I spent my Saturday night. Watching the men's national team cap off a stellar game against Scotland.
I found that the defense was solid and playing very aggressive, which as a defender I found very pleasant.
The offense played with more intensity and showed skill in passing the ball. Passing the ball seems so simple, yet teams at times perform a poor attempt and show  little regard for what a simple pass can do. A famous player once said, “ The ball never gets tired, but the player does.”
Jurgen Klinsmann has brought an entirely new concept of soccer to the United States, which is proving to pay off as in recent time we have defeated defending World Cup Champions Italy, marking the first time the U.S. has ever accomplished that task.
World Cup qualifying is  almost here and now I can only hope that the men’s team keeps  its momentum and keeps playing hard. If you happen to be reading this, whether you are a soccer fan or not, tune in for the game that will be shown tonight as the United States takes on Brazil in  Maryland.