From Part of Their Heart

The win at Honduras, securing the US's sixth World Cup straight qualification, brought the team back to the States in an upbeat mood, ready to close out the grueling qualification campaign with a win over Costa Rica to lock up first place in the CONCACAF hexangonal. The mood would go tragically somber, however, soon after arriving in Washington D.C., for the final match.

Young US forward Charlie Davies, the catalyst of the soccer world-shattering run through the Confederations Cup, was involved in a deadly car crash on a wet and treacherous D.C. byway. Early prognosis was very grim, with soccer seeming suddenly unimportant.

The match, though, had to be played, and the team were visibly distracted with their thoughts clearly with their teammate. With their own World Cup fate on the line, Costa Rica seized the match early on, and within the first 25 minutes, held a 2-0 lead over the sullen home side. Then the rain began to come from the sky, but so too, did the crowd's chants of "Charlie", "Charlie", and early lethargy was replaced with effort, pulling the US back into the match.

Only a run of bad luck near goal kept the match from being level at half, but as the team left the pitch at intermission, resolve had indeed returned to their faces. The second half blazed open with US intent, and very quickly, came two excellent scoring chances just after the break. Only exceptional saves by the Costa Rican goalkeeper kept the match at 2-0, a lead the visitors seemed to feel was defensible.

US coach Bob Bradley waited and watched, then pulled the trigger on all three of his allowed substitutes between the 63rd and 79th minutes. One of those subs, Robbie Rogers (for Stuart Holden in the 69th minute), quickly paid dividends. Rogers crossed a strong ball off the right flank and Michael Bradley won the header, dropping the ball to the waiting feet of Landon Donovan on the left side of the penalty area. A quick fake of a shot, and break back to the middle, and Donovan let fly a shot from 14 yards.

The shot was blocked by the Costa Rican netminder, but a hard-charging Bradley powered through the rebound to thump the first one back into the roof of the net in the match's 72nd minute.

Now sensing the rise of their emotional tide, the US almost capitalized again a minute later, this time with Rogers himself just missing a glancing header off a well-crossed ball from Bundesliga veteran right back Steve Cherundolo. In the 80th minute, Jozy Altidore came up with the ball off a midfield turnover, blazing past his marking defender, before sailing a shot just over the crossbar.

Seven minutes from time, though, the US would suffer yet another disastrous personnel loss. Central defender Oguchi Onyewu, trying to position under a ball in the Costa Rican penalty box, twisted his knee, immediately summoning help from the sidelines. Having used all three subs, this loss also reduced the US to 10 men for the remainder of the match.

The injury had only the faintest of silver linings, as the time attending 'Gooch' meant a full five minutes of stoppage time would be played following the 90. At this point, Costa Rica was using every delay tactic in the book, but the US would win two corner kicks, the second with under 30 seconds left in stoppage time.

On essentially  the last US kick of the match, Rogers sent a ball from the right arc, and defender Jonathan Bornstein raced through a pack of players, heading a ball down, and hard off the base of the right post. And into the goal.

The ramifications of that goal would  be glorious for the US, as the draw secured first place in the CONCACAF group for the second straight World Cup cycle, edging out arch rival Mexico. The goal would be disastrous for Costa Rica, as Honduras posted a win, by-passing them in the standings, and sending Costa Rica into a playoff with the fifth place South American team, Uruguay. The result of that playoff was a loss for Costa Rica, eliminating them from a trip to South Africa.

So now you know why there are toasts, songs, and yes, even facebook pages, dedicated to the newest national hero of Honduras -- Jonathan Bornstein.

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