Team USA tops Ecuador in friendly

ORLANDO, Fla.

Gregg Berhalter became only the second American coach to win his first three games when Gyasi Zardes scored a bizarre goal that deflected off a defender, looped over goalkeeper Alexander Dominguez and ricocheted in off the crossbar in the 81st minute for a 1-0 exhibition win over Ecuador on Thursday night.

Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams, a trio of 20-year-olds who have become regulars in the German Bundesliga, started together for the first time as Berhalter had the full American player pool available. The U.S., still recovering from its failure to qualify for last year’s World Cup, showed some of the fluidity and spark Berhalter sought but also was exposed for defensive gaps that stronger opponents would exploit.