USMNT Top 10 Goals of the Year

The USMNT has played 22 games this year (with at least one more to go), so we figured we would sift through the 42 goals scored and narrow them down to our Top 10. When ranking the goals, we not only took quality into account, but also the importance of the goal. So sorry Sacha, your bomb against Sweden isn't getting a whole lot of love here.

This is an inexact science, so feel free to tell us if you think we missed one or if you would've ranked them differently. With that, here's our list:

10) Sacha Kljestan v. Sweden, 1/24 : Kljestan's goal against Sweden was an absolute bomb. It's impressive when anyone scores from that far out, but since this goal happened in a January friendly between two second rate squads, it only gets the #10 spot in our rankings.

9) Ricardo Clark v. Trinidad & Tobago, 9/9 : Clark scored the games only goal in the 62nd minute and earned the US 3 points in a match that started off very slowly for the Yanks. The strike swerved and dipped, fooling the goalkeeper and finding the back of the net.

8) Jozy Altidore v. Trinidad & Tobago, 4/1 (at 1:40 in the video) : Jozy showed a bit of finesse and finished cooly for his second of three goals in the home match against Trinidad & Tobago. The big striker was able to get a defender to commit before cutting by and finding the corner.

7) Kyle Beckerman v. Panama, 7/18 (at 1:50) : Beckerman scored his first international goal in style by blasting a bouncing ball into the upper corner that tied the USMNT's Gold Cup quarterfinal against Panama.

6) Clint Dempsey v. Egypt, 6/21 (at 2:30) : Dempsey showed great body control when he snapped this header into the net off a Jonathan Spector cross. This goal was also the final part of the US' improbable comeback in Group B to earn a spot in the semifinals. Like many US fans, Clint was plenty pumped after this goal; his efforts earn him the #6 spot on our list.

5) Stuart Holden v. Haiti, 7/11 : Yes, it was just the group stage of the Gold Cup, and yes, it was against Haiti, but Stuart Holden's strike was absolutely stunning and would've been a goal against almost any goalkeeper. The goal was also a clutch one, as it came in stoppage time to earn the US a draw.

4) Landon Donovan v. Honduras, 10/10 (at 1:33) : Donovan's freekick had plenty of pace and curved around the wall, completely wrong-footing the Honduran GK and silencing the San Pedro Sula crowd. Donovan's blast was the game-winner in a game that earned the US their sixth consecutive World Cup berth.

3) Charlie Davies v. Mexico, 8/12 : This goal had many fans believing that a win in Estadio Azteca was possible. Landon Donovan put a perfect throughball onto the foot of a streaking Charlie Davies, who outran the Mexican defense and ended his run with a perfect finish. The goal sent USMNT fans into a frenzy while also stunning the 105,000 Mexicans in attendance (not to mention the rest of the country).

2) Jozy Altidore v. Spain, 6/24 : Jozy Altidore started off the US' historic upset of Spain in the Confederations Cup semifinal with this wonderful goal. The Hull City striker showed great strength to shield off his defender, turned, and caught Iker Casillas leaning to give the US an improbable 1-0 lead. It was certainly one of the highlights of the year for the USMNT, but alas, it wasn't enough to take the top spot in our rankings. That honor goes to who else but.....

1) Landon Donovan v. Brazil, 6/28 : It only took 10 seconds for the US to take control of the ball by their own 18, string together 3 passes, and score, as Landon Donovan and Charlie Davies combined for an absolutely beautiful counterattack against Brazil. Davies' one-touch feed to the feet of a streaking Donovan was followed by a perfect touch to cut behind the defender and set up a shot, and Landon made no mistake. His shot found the bottom corner and had many believing that the US was on it's way to another historic upset and their first Confederations Cup title.


So there's our list. There have already been plenty of great goals by the Yanks this year, and there still could be more to come, as someone might work their way onto the list with a great strike against Denmark in November.