Brad Guzan: Impressive, 1-On-1 Save In USA-Haiti 'My Job As Goalkeeper'

FOXBORO, Mass. — Brad Guzan’s job remains the same whether he does it once, twice or a dozen times per game.

Guzan back-stopped the United States men’s nation soccer team to a 1-0 win over Haiti on Friday at Gillette Stadium. Guzan made a critical save on Haiti forward Duckens Nazon in the 54th minute to preserve the lead Clint Dempsey had given Team USA 10 minutes earlier.

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Guzan said after the game his important save is all in a day’s work.

“It was obviously important given that we won the game 1-0,” Guzan said. “More so than that there are going to be times in games when we give up chances. It’s my job as a goalkeeper to help the team win. Fortunatley for me, I was able to do that.

Haiti’s impressive performance in the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup game surprised many. Haiti attacked boldly and launched a flurry of shots toward, but not necessarily on, Guzan’s goal.

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Guzan said Haiti’s output of shots was a result of its own qualities and weaknesses in Team USA’s game.

“We knew it wasn’t going to be a pretty game,” Guzan said. “We knew it was going to be a difficult challenge, and at the end of the day three points is all that matters.

“We know Haiti’s a good team. From their point of view, they’ll probably be disappointed with one or two of their chances that weren’t on target.

“I thought we created some of our own problems, having passes picked off. Going forward, we’ll continue to get better and continue to sort things out.”

Guzan, Team USA’s No. 1 keeper in 2015, has countless tasks like organizing his defense and alerting teammates of impending danger among his professional functions, but one aspect of his job stands out above the others: being that last line of defense.

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