Bornstein's late heroics provide proud moment for U.S. MNT

October 15, 8:44 AMMLS ExaminerCharlie Corr

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Most U.S. soccer fans would have been forgiving if the U.S. Men's National Team fell short during Wednesday night's final World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica.

There was the emotion surrounding this team from Charlie Davies' serious car accident less than 48 hours before this match.

There was the fact that they already qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

During the game the U.S. quickly fell behind, 2-0, and then late in the match defender Oguchi Onyewu left the match with a torn patellar tendon in his left knee, and he is expected to be out for 3-4 months.

What else could this team have endured?

But in the 5th minute of second-half stoppage time, while playing with 10 men on the pitch, Chivas USA's Jonathan Bornstein provided some heartfelt magic with a game-tying header as the U.S. and Costa Rica played to a 2-all draw at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.

"I think the whole team wanted to go out and put a good effort out there today, for Charlie, for his family and for everyone that was involved in the situation," Bornstein said. "To get the tie to go onto the World Cup as first in our group, I think it shows a lot about our team and what we're about. Hopefully, going forward from here, we can keep getting better and prepare for the World Cup."

This has been a wonderful year of soccer for the U.S., but this match resonated in a different way than any other game. And through all of the hardship, both mentally and physically, the U.S. took home first place in the CONCACAF. Second-place Mexico played to a 2-all draw against Trinidad & Tobago.

Costa Rica held onto a 2-0 lead for roughly 48 minutes when U.S. midfielder Michael Bradley knocked in a rebound in the 72nd minute. The Los Angeles Galaxy's Landon Donovan provided the first shot and Bradley cleaned up to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Five minutes of stoppage time were added on in the second half, and the Americans needed every second of that stretch. In those waning moments, Bornstein provided a clutch header as he was unmarked during Robbie Rogers' corner kick.

"I don't usually go up for corner kicks. Usually I stay in the back," Bornstein said. "But for that one, I was like, 'I'm getting in there. This is a last-shot effort.' (Rogers) put in a good ball and I just found myself wide open. No one marked me; I kind of snuck in there. The ball fell to my head and I just put it away."

The tone of the game nearly started off perfectly. Around the 9-minute mark, with the fans holding No. 9 printouts to represent Davies' number, the U.S. nearly struck with the first goal. Jozy Altidore provided a perfect pass to the Colorado Rapids' Conor Casey, who had a clear shot at the goal. But Casey's close-range shot went wide.

The rest of the half was squarely on Bryan Ruiz's two goals for Costa Rica, with his second tally an impossible shot to stop as he drove it to the far left corner, past the stretched arms of U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard.

• For more from this match, read the game report and post-game quotes available at USSoccer.com.

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Charlie Corr is a freelance sports writer based in Chicago. In addition to his Major League Soccer duties, he is the Chicago Sports Examiner and the creator of a Chicago-based soccer Web site, SlideTackles.net.

Follow Charlie on Twitter!