An Inspirational Tie

In a technically meaningless game, the US Men’s National Team drew inspiration from tragedy. As reported on Tuesday morning, forward Charlie Davies was involved in a horrific one-car accident that put his career in jeopardy and took the life of a young woman. Less than 40 hours after the crash, and having already qualified, the US had to take the field in the final qualification match, which in the standings meant a lot more to Costa Rica. However, the US played their hearts out. Fueled with emotion, the US stunned Costa Rica coming back from a 0-2 deficit to tie and knock the Ticos out of an automatic World Cup berth.

From an American prospective, the first half of the match had one beautiful moment (pictured above) and two very ugly instances. During the 9th minute of the match, fans held up #9 signs (Davies’ number) to honor Davies and wish him well. But the touching gesture was pushed aside quickly as Costa Rica’s Bryan Ruiz added two swift goals within the first 21 minutes, including a beautiful upper-90 strike. The US seemed off their game as both forwards, Jozy Altidore and Conor Casey, missed several opportunities to put their team on the scoreboard.

The second half however, was a completely different game, especially in the last 25 minutes. Jozy Altidore, playing with purpose for his roommate Davies, was a maniac on the field creating chances and drawing several free kicks. Manager Bob Bradley inserted energy late in the half with both Jose Francisco Torres and Robbie Rogers providing the attack some instant impact. In the 72nd minute, Michael Bradley (Bob Bradley’s son) knocked in a rebound off a Landon Donovan shot to pull the US within one goal. Fortunately for the US, five minutes of stoppage time was added to the match and enabled Jonathan Bornstein to head in the equalizer off a corner kick with about 30 seconds left.

Bornstein’s header had a far-reaching impact in CONCACAF: Because Mexico tied Trinidad and Tobago, the US won the qualifying group. Furthermore, because the US tied Costa Rica and Honduras defeated El Salvador, Honduras leap-frogged Costa Rica into the final automatic qualification spot, qualifying for their first World Cup in 28 years. (Costa Rica must now play Uruguay, the fifth place team from South America for a shot at the World Cup.) Bornstein became an instant hero not only at RFK Stadium but throughout Honduras as his goal secured their trip to South Africa. Waving American (and Honduran) flags became part of the celebration in Tegucigalpa, Honduras (pictured above). In the conflict-stricken country, there is no word yet if Bornstein will be offered the key to the city… or the presidency for that matter.

Despite the win, there was one other concern: Defensive anchor Onguchi Onyewu, while trying to chase down a cross, tore his left patella tendon. He will be out for three to four months – plenty of time to get back into the mix for the World Cup. Nonetheless, his injury was a scary scene.

After the match, the team took an emotional victory lap, pulling Davies banners from the crowd to send to him in the hospital. Jozy Altidore summarized his teammates’ and his reaction to the last 48 hours: “Charlie’s really close to all of us and I just realized that at any single second you might not be able to play like you would so you have to make sure you take every opportunity. I realized that, and I realized that the hard way, by my friend not being able to play for five or six months. I’m going to try and make sure that from now on, when I step on the field I will play like it’s my last because you never know.”

2009 has been a breakout year for US Soccer and if there is one thing fans can take away from watching this team - they know how to come back. In three of the last four qualifying matches, the US has come back from one or two goal deficits to win or tie. Surely their experience in these types of matches, as well as matches in the Confederations Cup, will be quite valuable come South Africa. Furthermore, the team knows that giving up the first goal in a match is something they will need to prevent when the group stage begins on June 11. I’m sure Bob Bradley will work on team defending in upcoming friendlies. But in the interim, the US has some time to enjoy what they’ve accomplished.

That’s all for now. You can watch the US v. Costa Rica highlights below.