Defenseman Jimmy Conrad scored the game-winning goal in the 53rd minute as the United States national soccer team defeated bitter rival Mexico 2-0 in an international match on Feb. 7 in Phoenix, Ariz.

The U.S. extended its home unbeaten streak against Mexico to eight games (7-0-1), scoring 13 goals to Mexico“s zero during that span.

After an uneventful first half, the U.S. came out flying in the second. U.S. soccer poster-boy Landon Donovan sent a high, lofting corner kick to the back post where Conrad headed home the ball, beating Mexican keeper Oswaldo Sanchez.

"We've been working on set pieces and talked about them the last couple of days, and knew we had some dangerous guys,” said Conrad, who scored his first international goal. “And we knew Landon could serve in some good balls. I took a step to the near post and kind of ran the guy who was marking me into some traffic and Landon played a great ball and I just picked a good spot and put it away.”

Playing in front of a mostly pro-Mexican sold out crowd of more than 60,000, the U.S. improved to 8-2-1 against Mexico since 2000. The Americans also played without stars like DaMarcus Beasley and Brian McBride, who are currently playing with their club team in Europe.

“I just thought our team played with a lot of determination tonight in front of a crowd that was more for Mexico,” said U.S. Interim Head Coach Bob Bradley.

Donovan added the insurance goal in 90th minute when he received a pass at midfield and slipped through a crack in the Mexican defense. The speedy Donovan blew past a defender for a breakaway and went one-on-one with Sanchez, beating him to the left leaving a wide-open goal.

The beautiful game got, well, a little bit ugly when these two natural adversaries took the field. The U.S. and Mexico combined for 30-plus fouls and five yellow cards in this hotly contested match. The two countries may share a border but they also share a hatred of each other when it comes to soccer.

“It“s always difficult to beat Mexico. It is a great rivalry,” Bradley said. “Our players get excited for every game against Mexico, so we knew their best was coming in tonight so we wanted to make sure that our players weren“t afraid at all.”

The U.S. is back in action March 25 when it hosts Ecuador in an exhibition match in Tampa, Fla.

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