fall 2013 / 39
ATHLETICS
together. We only had 10 training sessions to get on
the same page.”
The U.S. team went 2-1 in group play in the first
round of this year’s tournament, losing to Uruguay,
but rallied with defeats of Denmark and Mexico to
move to the quarterfinals.
“After the loss, our backs were against the wall,”
Goldfarb continues. “We had to win every game by
five or more goals and then we had to beat Mexico in
our last group game to advance to the quarterfinals.
And we were playing against some very good teams.
But that loss gave us the impetus to win. We dared to
dream the impossible.”
The team shut out Germany 7-0 in the quarterfinals
to move to the semifinals, where they defeated
Canada 5-0. That advanced them to the final game
against Argentina, which was held at Givat Ram Field
in Jerusalem on July 29. After 90 minutes of play,
the game was tied at 2-2 and went into 30 minutes of
overtime. After two scoreless 15-minute overtimes,
the U.S. team won it 4-3 on penalty kicks.
Goldfarb ran onto the field after the victory and
was buried by U.S. team members.
“It was incredible,” he says. “There were so many tears
of joy; I had tears in my eyes. This was their moment—
being the first. It still hasn’t really sunk in with me yet.”
“Before the final round against Argentina, I told them
I did not want to talk about the game, but rather about
life,” Goldfarb notes. “It’s very rare in one’s life that they
get a chance to do something no one else has ever done,
and make history doing it.”
Goldfarb, who now holds more than 31 years of soccer
coaching experience at the NAIA and NCAA levels, was
elected to the NAIA Hall of Fame in 2000. He says
he has had an incredible experience at the Maccabiah
Games, but is ready to retire.
“This year’s games have been the highlight of my life,”
says Goldfarb. “And it is a fitting end to my Maccabi
USA career.”
Visit the team’s blog page at
com.
Team to historic win
Photos courtesy of Howie Rowling
