Bornstein's late goal gives US draw
Chivas USA defender scores in stoppage time; USA tops hexagonal
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After Bryan Ruiz's double got the visitors off to a flying start, Michael Bradley and Jonathan Bornstein notched second-half goals to secure a 2-2 final result that earns the U.S. top spot in the CONCACAF hexagonal round and sentences Costa Rica to a daunting two-leg playoff against Uruguay after Honduras' 1-0 win against El Salvador, also Wednesday.
An ominous knee injury to Oguchi Onyewu forced the home side to finish the match a man down but Bornstein saved the day with a bit of stoppage-time inspiration, nodding home a 95th-minute corner kick to equalize in stunning fashion.
United States frontrunner Jozy Altidore troubled the Ticos' back line with his pace and power all night, and he beat three defenders with a slashing run in the ninth minute. A U.S. goal seemed certain when he squared to a wide-open Conor Casey at the top of the Costa Rica penalty box. But with goalkeeper Keilor Navas at his mercy, the hero of Saturday's 3-2 victory against Honduras looped his curling bid well wide of the top right corner.
Around the same time, smoke bombs erupted from the U.S. fan clubs' section and thousands of fans around RFK held up signs bearing "9" in a heartfelt tribute to Charlie Davies, the U.S. striker who was seriously injured in a fatal car crash on the George Washington Parkway just outside the District of Columbia late Monday night.
Ticos veteran Walter Centeno paced his team's attack early on, popping up at the far post to smash a volley that surely would have found the net had it not been hit right at Howard. But the U.S. threatened again soon after when Casey's flick sprang Stuart Holden down the right flank, though his excellent cross was headed wide by Altidore.
The USA's failure to capitalize on its early chances was punished when Ruiz broke the scoreless deadlock with a fine solo effort in the 21st minute. The Costa Rican striker showed impressive strength and quickness to slalom past Oguchi Onyewu inside the U.S. box, then slipped a low, near-post finish underneath Tim Howard to give the visitors a vital 1-0 lead.
Moments later the Dutch-based hitman topped his own feat with a wonder strike that doubled his team's advantage and sent the Ticos faithful into rapture. The Costa Ricans weaved a sharp sequence of quick passes before Ruiz drifted in from the right wing to hammer a shot that gave Howard no chance as it arrowed into the upper left corner.
The home side were stunned to find themselves two goals down in a four-minute span, but tried to fashion a response as Altidore and Donovan combined nicely to slash open the Costa Rican defense, Donovan leaving center back Luis Marin for dead with a nifty chip-and-run only to slice his left-footed shot high of the target.
The first half finished at a breakneck pace as the U.S. laid siege to Navas' goal and the Deportivo Saprissa netminder bravely denied Donovan, then Altidore to preserve his team's lead.
The Yanks continued to press forward in the second half, enjoying plenty of possession but struggling to really test Navas -- while Ruiz, bursting with confidence afer his first-half brace, drew a diving save from Howard with an audacious shot from all of 30 yards out.
High balls and crosses into the Costa Rican box continued to discomfit Navas and his defenders, though time after time Casey and Altidore were unable to apply the finishing touch in dangerous spots.
The U.S. finally broke through on a scrappy goalmouth in the 72nd minute after Donovan cut inside and clipped a low shot that Navas saved but could not hold at the near post. Bradley was the man on the spot, bundling home an opportunistic shot that dribbled off Navas' leg and spun up into the net to cut the lead to 2-1.
Seven minutes from time, Altidore won a corner kick as the USA probed for an equalizer and second-half substitute Jose Francisco Torres lofted the set piece high over Onyewu's head at the far post. The big center back leaped for the ball, then dropped to the turf clutching at his left knee and furiously waved for medical attention, stunning the crowd into silence as they contemplated the possibility of a serious injury to one of their most important players.
Onyewu's departure left the USA shorthanded, though Costa Rica showed little inclination to go for the kill, instead doing their best to milk the clock as time wound down. Yet referee Benito Archundia and his crew added five minutes of extra time and the men in white made the most of it with a heart-stopping finish on Robbie Rogers' late, late corner kick.
With only seconds remaining, Bornstein slipped into the Costa Rica goal area unmarked and made himself a most unlikely goalscoring hero, leaping high to thump a header that snuck past a diving Navas inside the right post to run the score to 2-2.
RFK exploded with noise, smoke and song as the U.S. celebrated a gutsy comeback that handed them first place in the hexagonal and simultaneously gutted Costa Rican hopes, as their fourth-place finish means they must face Uruguay in a home-and-home playoff next month to determine who earns one of the final tickets to South Africa 2010.
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
