by FRANCO PANIZO
The Americans Abroad must have known this was the final weekend before the U.S. national team's two European friendlies, because there was a plethora of positive performances and five different goal scorers in one of the most successful weekends in recent memory.
Clint Dempsey was one of those goal scorers, drawing and converting an equalizing penalty kick in Fulham's 1-1 draw vs. Wigan Athletic. Dempsey's goal marked the third straight game the midfielder has scored in.
A total of five Americans found the net this weekend, with Mike Grella and Jon-Paul Pittman scoring in FA Cup action and Marcus Tracy tallying one for Aalborg.
Perhaps the best goal of the bunch came from left back prospect Edgar Castillo. Castillo capped the scoring in Tigres UANL's 4-0 blanking over Atlante by beating four defenders before slotting home a perfect shot (video of the goal is after the jump).
The goals were just some of several highlights in a very good week for Americans Abroad. Here is a rundown of how the rest of the Americans Abroad performed this weekend:
England
PREMIERSHIP
- Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made four saves in Everton's 2-1 win vs. West Ham United on Sunday.
- Jozy Altidore started and played 83 minutes in Hull City 's 2-1 win vs. Stoke City on Sunday.
- Clint Dempsey started, played 90 minutes and scored a GOAL in Fulham's 1-1 draw vs. Wigan Athletic on Sunday.
- Eddie Johnson did not dress in Fulham's 1-1 draw vs. Wigan Athletic on Sunday.
- Jonathan Spector started and played 90 minutes in West Ham's 2-1 loss vs. Everton on Sunday.
- Brad Friedel started, played 90 minutes and made five saves in Aston Villa's 5-1 win vs. Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.
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Brad Guzan dressed but did not play in Aston Villa's 5-1 win vs. Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.
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Marcus Hahnemann dressed but did not play in Wolverhampton Wanderers' 4-1 loss vs. Arsenal on Saturday.
COCA COLA CHAMPIONSHIP
- Jay DeMerit did not dress in Watford's 2-0 win vs. Preston North End on Saturday. He is recovering from an eye injury.
- Frank Simek started and played 72 minutes in Sheffield Wednesday's 2-1 loss vs. Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.
LEAGUE ONE
- Ian Joyce dressed but did not play in Southend United's 3-0 loss vs. Gillingham in the FA Cup on Saturday.
- Zak Whitbread and Millwall play AFC Wimbledon in the FA Cup on Monday.
- Mike Grella came off the bench, played 4 minutes and scored a GOAL in Leeds United's 2-0 win vs. Oldham Athletic in the FA Cup on Saturday.
- Jemal Johnson did not dress in Milton Keynes Dons' 1-0 win vs. Macclesfield Town in the FA Cup on Saturday.
- Jon-Paul Pittman started, played 81 minutes and scored a GOAL in Wycombe Wanderers' 4-4 draw vs. Brighton in the FA Cup on Saturday.
Scotland
- Maurice Edu did not dress in Rangers' 2-1 win vs. St Mirren on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- DaMarcus Beasley came off the bench and played 45 minutes, helping set up the game-winning goal in Rangers' 2-1 win vs. St Mirren on Saturday.
- Dominic Cervi dressed but did not play in Celtic's 3-3 draw vs. Falkirk on Sunday.
Italy
- Oguchi Onyewu did not dress in AC Milan's 2-1 win vs. Lazio on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
Germany
BUNDESLIGA
- Michael Bradley started and played 90 minutes in Borussia Moenchengladbach's 0-0 draw vs. VfB Stuttgart on Saturday.
- Steve Cherundolo started and played 90 minutes in Hannover 96's 2-2 draw vs. Hamburg SV on Sunday.
- Sal Zizzo did not dress in Hannover 96's 2-2 draw vs. Hamburg SV on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Jermaine Jones did not dress in Schalke 04's 1-1 draw vs. Bayern Munich on Saturday. He is recovering from a leg injury.
BUNDESLIGA 2
- Kenny Cooper came off the bench and played 16 minutes in TSV 1860 Munich's 1-0 loss vs. Energie Cottbus on Sunday.
- Luis Robles dressed but did not play in Kaiserslautern's 3-1 win vs. RW Oberhausen on Friday.
- Matt Taylor started and played 75 minutes in FSV Frankfurt's 0-0 draw vs. Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday.
- David Yeldell started, played 90 minutes and made eight saves in TUS Koblenz's 2-1 loss vs. SC Paderborn 07 on Friday.
France
- Carlos Bocanegra started and played 66 minutes in Stade Rennes' 3-2 loss vs. Toulouse on Sunday.
Portugal
- Freddy Adu dressed but did not play in Belenenses' 3-0 loss vs. Pacos de Ferreira on Friday.
- Kamani Hill did not dress in Vitoria de Guimaraes' 1-0 win vs. Braga on Saturday.
Denmark
- Benny Feilhaber started and played 90 minutes in AGF Aarhus' 1-1 draw vs. Koge on Saturday.
- Jeremiah White started and played 75 minutes in AGF Aarhus' 1-1 draw vs. Koge on Saturday.
- Danny Califf did not play in FC Midtjylland's 2-1 win vs. Randers FC on Sunday.
- Michael Parkhurst started and played 90 minutes in FC Nordsjaelland's 1-0 win vs. Sonderjyske on Sunday.
- Marcus Tracy started, played 74 minutes and scored a GOAL in Aalborg's 1-0 win vs. FC Copenhagen on Sunday.
Mexico
- Jose Francisco Torres started and played 90 minutes in Pachuca's 3-0 loss vs. Toluca on Sunday.
- Michael Orozco dressed but did not play in San Luis' 4-2 win vs. Santos on Saturday.
- Edgar Castillo started, played 90 minutes and scored a GOAL in Tigres UANL's 4-0 win vs. Atlante on Saturday.
- Marco Vidal started, played 70 minutes and received a yellow card in Indios de Ciudad Juarez's 1-0 loss vs. Chiapas on Saturday.
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What do you think of these performances? Have Dempsey's goal-scoring ways convinced you he should play up top for the national team? Impressed by Castillo's run-and-finish? Happy to see so many Americans Abroad score? Think Beasley is ready to find his form?
Share your thoughts below.
