USA 2, Costa Rica 2: A Look Back

 

                                                                              Photo by ISIphotos.com

Costa Rica scored two beautiful first-half goals and thought it had done enough to finish off the U.S. national team. Apparently the 'Ticos' hadn't been watching the Americans play lately.

If they had, they might have known that a deficit would only inspire them, and that they wouldn't stop until they found a way to erase Costa Rica's lead, or until the final whistle blew.

Jonathan Bornstein's equalizer came in the final seconds and capped the latest inspired performance 
from a team that has made a habit of stepping up and delivering when things look toughest.

For those of you who missed it, here is my story on the match for ESPN.com.

 Here are some more overall thoughts on Wednesday night's match:

Jozy Altidore was a man possessed. We all know the teenage striker has tons of talent, but on Wednesday night we say a player who combined both talent and a determination to win. He acknowledged after the match that he is determined now to make the most of every chance and every game because it can all be taken away at any moment.

“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,” Altidore said. “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 its my last because you never know.”

As devastating and sad as Davies' situation is, there is comfort in knowing that he has inspired teammates, including Altidore, and it wouldn't surprise me one bit if Altidore goes to Hull City now and becomes a force.

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                            Photo by ISIphotos.com

Jonathan Bornstein has proved me wrong. I'm never afraid to admit when I'm wrong and when it comes to left back Jonathan Bornstein I missed the mark. After his performance in the El Salvador match I wrote pretty clearly that he wasn't good enough to be the starting U.S. left back. All he has done in the three games since is play with confidence and help solidify the position. Even before his game-winner, Bornstein had held his own on the left and his willingness to fly into 50/50 challenges as well as get forward show me that he's growing into the role. He's still far from the finished product, and will still make mistakes, but I think he has shown to be much better equipped from the role than most, including myself, could have imagined.

And if all that wasn't enough, Bornstein is a national hero in Honduras now.

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The fans at RFK were amazing. Maybe it's the fact that D.C. United and Red Bulls fans have had little to cheer for, or more likely it was a combination of all the emotion surrounding Charlie Davies' accident and the U.S. team's gutsy performance, but the USA fans at RFK Stadium were unbelievable and arguably the best I've seen at a USA game.

What made Wednesday's display even more impressive was the fact that there were actually a good number of Costa Rican fans in attendance, and after the two Ruiz goals, you heard them pretty loudly, but as the Americans kept pushing and pressing and fighting to comeback, the USA fans gained more and more energy and capped the night with a display I know USA players were left amazed by.

 

                                                                             Photo by ISIphotos.com

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Jose Francisco Torres was extremely sharp. Benny Feilhaber struggled to make his mark on the match (I think part of the reason was that he's not as adept at playing in a deeper midfield role, which is where he spent a lot of time as Michael Bradley surged forward), but Torres came in and played the role beautifully. It should be noted that Costa Rica wasn't really attacking or pressuring much in the second half, and Torres made it look easy as he took advantage of that lack of pressure to move the ball at will and provide a perfect conduit between the defense and the attack. I won't jump on the "Torres needs to start" bandwagon just yet, but I definitely believe he needs to get more playing time.

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Bryan Ruiz deserves credit. Far too often, when American opponents play well or score goals, U.S. players are blamed rather than the opponent given credit. On Wednesday, Ruiz showed why he's easily one of the best attackers in CONCACAF. He doesn't start for the best team in the Dutch League by accident. 

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Oguchi Onyewu's injury will force others to step up. When Onyewu went down with his torn patellar tendon, you knew it would be serious and keep him out for months. Now the question will be who steps up? Jay DeMerit is the easy answer but he's battling his own injury issue involving an eye. Veteran Jimmy Conrad, as well as Clarence Goodson and Chad Marshall, will need to step up and will have very good chances to state their cases for playing time and potential places on the U.S. World Cup roster.

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There is so much more I could touch on, and will look to add more to this piece. For now, feel free to share your own thoughts on these observations, and on last night's match in the comments section below.