Dramatic Equalizer Saves the Day for U.S. in 2-2 Draw

Without Davies' speed, Bradley went with a physical presence up top, pairing Jozy Altidore with Conor Casey, whose two goals in Honduras last Saturday helped clinch the Americans' entry into the World Cup. But the rest of the lineup remained mostly unchanged, a sign that the Elder would not be taking his foot off the pedal. After all, despite the Davies commotion, this match was something of a revenge game for the United States: the Ticos laid a 3-1 beating on them earlier in the qualification cycle.

Costa Rica, on the other hand, was desperate for a win, and certainly couldn't have hoped for a better first half. Luck appeared to be on their side, as, just when the crowd rang out in a planned ninth-minute chant of Charlie Davies, Altidore shrugged off three surrounding defenders and found Casey wide open in the middle of the park. Casey, who looked lead-footed all evening, completely flubbed the finish though, a sign of things to come for the Americans.

The Ticos took full advantage of the miss, striking twice in quick succession. Twenty minutes in, Bryan Ruiz produced a magnificent turn, beating the trap and Onyewu, and fired his shot low past Howard. Moments later and the Ticos bags were seemingly packed: Ruiz, the recipient of some brilliant triangular passing, absolutely smashed a left-footed cracker from 20 yards out into the upper 90 past a sprawling Howard. (Howard, as those watching on TV can attest, was less than pleased that the defense completely forgot that Ruiz has a dynamite left boot.)

A shocked United States probably didn't deserve to be down by two goals. But they could only blame themselves: numerous chances came, but free kicks in dangerous locations, corners, and keeper Keilor Navas – a punching machine – kept the U.S. scoreless in the first 45. It certainly didn't help that without Davies, the bulky U.S. strikeforce was solely dependent on service into the box, which just wasn't happening.

What had been a depressing way to end a terrible couple of days got a bit of a spark after Michael Bradley (who, along with Altidore, seemed to run a marathon) scored a scrappy little goal, collecting the rebound off Landon Donovan's drive with but 20 minutes from time. It was now on to the offensive for the U.S. Costa Rica brought in Junior Diaz as a fifth defender, and placed ten men behind the ball to combat the oncoming wave of white shirts. The last ten minutes were choatic, to say the least. Oguchi Onyewu ruptured a tendon in his left knee in the waning moments, leaving the U.S. a man short, as they were out of substitutions. Then Costa Rica manager Rene Simoes was sent off (and escorted out by D.C.'s finest) for dissent, and the Ticos bench was helter skelter; all the while, the U.S. was trying to move the ball down the field as quickly as possible.

Just as time was about to run out the insanity and push Costa Rica through, Bornstein found himself unmarked on the first real good set piece the U.S. performed all night. The Ticos, broken hearted, left the field with their heads covered in shame, and the U.S., in jubilation, made the rounds, shaking hands, discarding a hellish 48 hours for a brief moment.

Never has a draw felt so much like a win.