INTERNATIONAL: Ricardo Pepi Scores Goal in First Nike Friendlies Start as US U-17s Win 1-0

FRISCO - FC Dallas U-17 forward Ricardo Pepi scored the lone goal of the match as the U.S. U-17s beat Turkey on Friday night in their second match of the 2018 Nike Friendlies. 

The youngest player on the U-17 roster, Pepi earned his first start of the tournament after coming off the bench in the opening match on Wednesday. His strike in the 17th minute was all the U.S. needed en route to its first win of the tournament. 

"Gio[vanni Reyna] found a good pocket in the middle, I opened my body and he passed it to me. I was going to play it outside, but then I saw the shot and I hit it," Pepi told USSoccer.com after the match. "The group kept improving in the way we play and we're getting ready for the next game."

The U-17s play Brazil in the final match of the 2018 Nike International Friendlies on Sunday, Dec. 2 at 4:30 PM. The U.S. and Portugal sit at four points apiece through two games, though Portugal tops the tournament table based on the goal-difference tiebreaker.