SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Bruce Arena found Jordan Morris not long after the final whistle Wednesday night to offer encouraging words to the U.S. forward, who had just helped deliver another Gold Cup title.

Arena learned a little more about the young American in one half of soccer that began with a costly mistake and finished with a spectacular strike.

“I said, ‘You made up for the goal you gave away for us.’ And then I said, ‘You hit that ball pretty good,’ ” Arena recalled. “Those kind of moments are important for a player. That’s a big step he took tonight so I’m real pleased with that.”

Morris, a former star at nearby Stanford, scored a tiebreaking goal in the 88th minute, lifting the United States past Jamaica 2-1 for the Americans’ sixth Gold Cup title and first since 2013.

In 19 months, Morris has won an NCAA title in 2015 with Stanford, scoring the first two goals in a 4-0 rout of Clemson; won the 2016 MLS Cup for his hometown Seattle Sounders, who beat Toronto on penalty kicks; and now added a Gold Cup medal.

“Some of those still haven’t set in,” he said. “It’s pretty special to be part of three great teams. It’s awesome to be part of championships because they don’t come around too often. It’s very exciting.”

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Morris’ goal came after he lost his mark on Je-Vaughn Watson, who evened the score in the 50th minute with a 4-yard volley off Kemar Lawrence’s corner kick.

“It definitely lingers around a little bit. To be honest, I’ve never really had anything like that in my career where I was kind of at fault for the other team scoring like that,” Morris said.

“It was tough to get over, especially in such a big game. My teammates were great and for me. It just helped to keep pushing forward and trying to make a difference. It was a sense of relief almost that I could try and make up for my mistake.”

Morris got angry. His teammates all saw it. And they appreciated seeing emotions from a guy who doesn’t always show them.

“He’s a strong boy, mentally and physically,” goalkeeper Tim Howard said. “You could see disappointment on his face after the goal. On defensive set pieces people get lost in the shuffle. You get picked off sometimes, that happens. You can’t really point the finger and blame. But look, you saw it on his face. He was annoyed.”

Morris had finished his freshman year at Stanford when the U.S. national team based there ahead of the 2014 World Cup and scrimmaged against the collegians. He impressed Jurgen Klinsmann, then the American coach, and made his national team debut that November in an exhibition at Ireland – the first college player to appear for the U.S. since Ante Razov in 1995.

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“My predecessor did an outstanding job in getting him involved,” said Arena, who replaced Klinsmann last fall.

Morris’ got the breakthrough goal with a 14-yard right-footed shot after Gyasi Zardes crossed. Jermaine Taylor tried to clear with a header and the ball was knocked by Clint Dempsey with a leg back to Morris.

Morris, 22, scored his fifth international goal while tying 16-year-old Canadian Alphonso Davies for the tournament lead with three goals.

“That was like a dagger in the heart,” Jamaica Coach Theodore Whitmore said.


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