April 12, 1999

KANO, Nigeria - University of Maryland freshman forward Taylor Twellman (St. Louis, Mo.) scored two goals on Sunday as the U.S. under-20 national team defeated Cameroon, 3-1, to advance to the round of 16 at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship.

The victory, coupled with Japan's 2-0 victory against England, gave the U.S. team a runner-up finish in Group E and a second-round match against Spain Thursday. The result marked the first time the United States had won two matches in the tournament. The 1989 team that advanced to the semifinals won two matches, but the second came in the quarterfinals.

Twellman opened the scoring in the 39th minute, and after American Carlos Bocanegra and Adissa Kioyo scored early in the second half, Twellman put away the game by connecting in the 79th minute.

"They (Cameroon) were big and physical, as you can see from this ice bag on my head, " laughed Twellman. "We knew that going into the game, and dealt with it very well. I scored two goals, yes, but they would never have happened without the work of others."

"It's a sign of a big-time player that he (Taylor) stepped up and scored two huge goals for us today," said fellow Maryland and under-20 teammate Nick Downing. "Cameroon was a very good team, and today we beat them by playing together as a team."