11:09 PM ET

The United States qualified for its first Olympic men's soccer tournament since 2008 when it beat Honduras in the semifinals of the under-20 championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean.

The Philadelphia Union's Paxten Aaronson scored in the 3rd minute.

The U.S. earned a spot in the 16-nation field after Alejandro Alvarado, who made four appearances last season for Portugal, scored in the 23rd minute.

Each nation can only allow three wild cards over the limit for men's soccer at the Olympics. The U.S. failed in three straight qualification cycles because many clubs refused to make top players available.

The U.S. was eliminated from Olympic qualification when Sean Johnson allowed a goal to go in off his hands in the final minute of the game.

In a two-leg playoff for a spot in the 2016 Olympics, the Americans were beaten by a combined score of 3 to 2.

The U.S. lost to Honduras in last year's Olympic qualification game because the goalkeeper gave a goal away when he tried to clear the ball.

The Dominican Republic defeated Guatemala 4-2 on penalty kicks after a 2-2 tie.

The under-20 World Cup will be held in Indonesia from May 20 to June 11 next year and will feature 24 nations.