Quaranta was making his first appearance for the United States in more than three years, and the member of MLS' D.C. United broke a scoreless tie in the 75th minute before his home fans at RFK Stadium to help the Americans beat Honduras 2-0.

Brian Ching followed Quaranta's goal with a header four minutes later to seal the win.

"It's hard to explain how special it is," Quaranta said. "I was trying to tell myself all day just to enjoy it, but it was difficult."

Quaranta publicly acknowledged he had battled drug and alcohol addictions the past few years before getting another chance with D.C. United last year. That's where he started his MLS career in 2001. Now, his road to recovery has made it all the way to the national squad.

"To listen to the anthem was very emotional for me," Quaranta said. "It's been a fun, long road back."

The United States, two-time defending champion in the competition contested among the countries of North and Central America and the Caribbean, is 23-0-1 in Gold Cup group play.

The Americans are 2-0 and lead Group B going into their final first-round match against Haiti on Saturday in Foxborough, Mass., where a draw will be enough to clinch the group and move into the quarter-finals.

Honduras (1-1) will face winless Grenada, also in Foxborough.

Quaranta took a short pass from Charlie Davies, who replaced Freddy Adu in the 64th minute, at the top of the penalty box and fired in his first goal for the national team.

"I looked to my left and saw Santino making a good run, so I was able to lay off a good ball for him," Davies said. "He was just like, 'Thanks.' I think it was gratifying for him to score in front of the home crowd."

The crowd of 26,079 had a pro-Honduras bent, but there were still enough American fans to loudly cheer Quaranta's goal.

Quaranta was one of several new players on the U.S. roster for the Gold Cup. The Americans have a nearly entirely different roster from the U.S. team that made a surprise run to the Confederations Cup championship game last month; most regulars were given a rest for the Gold Cup.

The Americans last played Honduras on June 6 in a World Cup qualifying match, but the only American who was dressed for that game and Wednesday's match was Benny Feilhaber, who came on in the 64th minute.