After a nerve-wracking penalty shootout, the U.S. men's national team is through to the Concacaf Gold Cup semifinals after defeating Costa Rica.
The USMNT trailed on the day early after Max Arfsten conceded a penalty in the first half. The Columbus Crew defender righted his wrong at first by assisting Diego Luna for the equalizer before halftime. Then, straight from the restart, he scored his first senior international goal. Costa Rica pushed on and equalized in the 71st minute as New York City FC player Alonso Martinez beat his MLS teammate, Matt Freese.
With no extra time on the day, fans in the stadium hoped their team wouldn't suffer the same fate Canada did earlier in the day. After three major saves from Freese, despite a miss from Sebastian Berhalter and a saved attempt from John Tolkin, Damion Downs scored the decisive penalty to push the USMNT into the next round.
It marks a major victory for Mauricio Pochettino's men as they chase silverware this summer. It was also a big test passed given the adversity this squad faced after trailing for the first time this tournament.
Takeaways from the game below.
