US changes 9 starters for exhibition vs Costa Rica

SANDY, Utah (AP) — Defenders Tim Ream and Mark McKenzie were the only holdovers as U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter changed nine starters for Wednesday night’s exhibition against Costa Rica.

Ethan Horvath took over in goal after entering in the second half of Sunday’s CONCACAF Nations League semifinal against Mexico when Zack Steffen bruised a bone in his left knee. Horvath stopped Andrés Guardado's penalty kick in extra time as the U.S. won 3-2 on Christian Pulisic’s 114th-minute goal.

Reggie Cannon was at right back and Antonee Robinson at left back as DeAndre Yedlin, Sergiño Dest and John Brooks went to the bench. Brooks has a bruised right thigh.

Tyler Adams, recovered from a back injury, started in defensive midfield, replacing Weston McKennie. Adams captained the U.S. for the first time, the 11th player to captain the U.S. under Berhalter.

Brenden Aaronson, Sebastian Lletget, Yunus Musah and Tim Weah were in midfield and Daryl Dike at forward.

Kellyn Acosta, Pulisic, Gio Reyna and Josh Sargent moved to the bench.

The starting lineup averaged 13 appearances, and 23 years, 278 days.

The U.S. was playing its fourth match in 11 days, designed to mimic the compressed World Cup qualifying scheduled caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The 14-match final round of the North and Central American and Caribbean region opens for the U.S. on Sept. 2 at El Salvador or St. Kitts and Nevis, followed by a home game on Sept. 5 against Canada or Haiti and a Sept. 8 match at Honduras.

___

More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports