Dooley Goes Out a Winner

The United States gave Thomas Dooley the retirement gift he wanted Sunday, defeating Chile, 2-1, in an international soccer game played in front of 14,896 at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The match was the 37-year-old U.S. team captain’s 81st and final appearance for the national team, which he helped guide into the 1994 and 1998 World Cup tournaments.

It also marked the first international goals for Ben Olsen, Major League Soccer’s 1998 rookie of the year with Washington D.C. United, and Eddie Lewis, the former UCLA winger who now plays for the San Jose Clash.

All three goals were scored in an eight-minute span in the second half. Olsen gave the U.S. the lead off a pass from Brian McBride in the 58th minute. Roberto Cartes tied it for Chile in the 64th minute with a long-range shot into the upper right corner of the net beyond the reach of goalkeeper Tom Presthus, who was making his U.S. debut.

One minute later, Lewis fired a shot off another McBride pass and saw the ball deflected past Chilean goalkeeper Marcelo Ramirez off the heel of defender Pablo Contreras.

The victory kept Bruce Arena unbeaten as national coach, following a pair of 0-0 ties with Australia and Bolivia and a 3-0 win over Germany.

With each team trying out a half-dozen or more inexperienced players, the game was a scrappy, foul-ridden affair. Referee Pascal Rebolledo of Mexico called 60 fouls and gave six yellow cards, with Lewis, McBride, Chris Armas and Richie Williams the U.S. players cautioned. “This was a day where we gave our young players another taste of international soccer,” Arena said. “I think this result speaks well for our future.”

Dooley’s future, meanwhile, is with the Columbus Crew. “It would have been nice to score in my final game,” he said, “but what really matters is the team. The team won. If I had scored, who knows, maybe I could keep playing for a longer period of time.”

Next for the U.S. team is Nike U.S. Cup ‘99, a four-team tournament with Bolivia, Guatemala and Mexico played as two doubleheaders on March 11 and 13 in Los Angeles and San Diego, respectively.

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In an exhibition played at UC Santa Barbara on Sunday evening, the Galaxy tied Aguila of El Salvador, 1-1. The teams meet again on Wednesday at 8 p.m. at the Santa Ana Bowl.