USA vs. Honduras: Score, Grades and Reaction for 2015 Gold Cup

The United States men's national soccer team moved into first place in Group A to kick off their 2015 Gold Cup with a 2-1 victory over Honduras on Tuesday at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. Major League Soccer noted Team USA's win:

A familiar suspect in forward Clint Dempsey rose to the occasion to net both goals for the defending Gold Cup champions. The Seattle Sounders star redirected a ricochet in front of the net with a brilliant header in the 25th minute, marking his 42nd international goal.

Major League Soccer showed the Dempsey highlight, which came as a result of Jozy Altidore's activity close to the net:

Paul Carr of ESPN Stats & Info noted the historic company Dempsey joined with his tally:

Michael Bradley registered his 100th cap for the United States on Tuesday and was also the captain, taking the band from Dempsey after the latter tore up an official's notebook while playing for the Sounders in the U.S. Open Cup.

The Associated Press (via the Guardian) noted what Dempsey said about coach Jurgen Klinsmann's decision:

"

Michael's a great leader. He deserves to be captain. For me, I'm excited to be part of the team, trying to push to win the Gold Cup, be a part of the Confederations Cup. I got to experience being captain in the World Cup. For me, that was something special and I'll always kind of remember, but it's never been a big thing for me to be captain.

"

The way Dempsey handled losing his captaincy translated to greatness on the pitch as the Americans got their Gold Cup defense started on the right foot.

ESPN Stats & Info highlighted how stellar the U.S. has been when getting on the scoresheet first in this tournament:

But there was hardly any reason to believe the Americans had this match in the bag despite their advantage. In the opening half, Honduras outshot the U.S. 9-3. All of the latter's shots were on net, though, while Honduras had only two real chances.

Striker Andy Najar gave Honduras hope, albeit with a questionably legal maneuver to set up his shot just before halftime, per MLSSoccer.com's Matthew Doyle:

Until Dempsey scored first, his side was a bit flat in front of the friendly fans. American Soccer Now writer Brian Sciaretta was critical of how the Americans initially took the pitch:

U.S. Soccer passed along what Klinsmann told his players with regard to halftime adjustments:

Dempsey struck again off a free-kick in the 64th minute, set up by none other than Bradley. Fox Soccer had the footage:

Honduras kept up on the attack in their bid to notch the equalizer to begin the second half, yet they couldn't quite manage to put quality shots on goal to test goalkeeper Brad Guzan before Dempsey padded the lead. That's a testament to the job the USA's back line did in bending but not breaking to preserve a mostly clean sheet.

Los Catrachos couldn't get inside the box with any regularity until late. Their attempts were too far out to truly threaten. Once Dempsey had his second goal, the underdogs' sense of urgency picked up.

Midfielder Carlos Discua sneaked past USA central defender Ventura Alvarado and put a beautiful ball right over Guzan's left shoulder to cut Honduras' deficit in half just before the 69-minute mark, as Fox Soccer noted:

Substitute Eddie Hernandez also had two golden opportunities for Honduras within the final 10 minutes to knot the score, barely missing on both occasions. A late foul in added time led to a free-kick to add suspense to the match's conclusion, though the Americans' wall blocked the attempt.

Luckily for Team USA, the late lapses didn't cost them too dearly, and a trio of their best offensive creators in Altidore, Bradley and Dempsey are to thank for the final result.

Only two matches remain before the knockout stage, which will consist of the top two teams from each of three groups of four plus the top two third-place teams. The United States are in prime position to move forward, and they will be heavily favored against Haiti on Friday.

Honduras can take solace in the fact that they gave the reigning Gold Cup champions a good fight in the opener, even if it resulted in no points. They'll seek to regain momentum in a showdown with Panama to start Friday's action.

Selected Player Ratings

Clint Dempsey: A

LM Otero/Associated Press

What more can be said about Dempsey? Two goals on Tuesday gave him 43 for his international career, and the last of those provided the necessary cushion to gain three early Gold Cup points.

Carlos Discua: A-

It was going to take a physical effort for Discua and his side to muster momentum against a fast-paced, athletic American team. Although Discua took a magnificent touch to finally get into the box and finish, it was ultimately too little for Honduras to salvage a draw.

Michael Bradley: B+

The free-kick to set up Dempsey's second goal was brilliant. Possession was quite even in this match, though, and Bradley could have done more to inspire his teammates early when the U.S. started sluggish and let Honduras hang around.