Matt Freese made three saves in the shootout and Damion Downs scored the winner in the bottom of the sixth round as the U.S. defeated Costa Rica 4-3 on penalties in Minneapolis on Sunday to advance to the CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinals.
Freese denied Andy Rojas in the top of the sixth for his second consecutive stop before Downs scored to the left corner.
The match was tied 2-2 after 90 minutes and went straight to penalties.
The U.S. plays Guatemala on Wednesday in St. Louis for the right to face either Mexico or Honduras in the final July 6 in Houston. Guatemala defeated Canada 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw on Sunday.
After Max Arfsten gave the U.S. a 2-1 lead in the 47th minute with his first international goal, Costa Rica tied it in the 71st when Alonso Martinez scored on the rebound after his New York City FC teammate Freese saved a shot by Carlos Mora.
Arfsten had a goal and an assist and Diego Luna scored his first U.S. goal in the 43rd minute.
Francisco Calvo converted a penalty in the 12th minute to put the U.S. behind for the first time in the tournament. The goal came after Arfsten fouled Kenneth Varga on the right side of the box.
The U.S. failed to tie it in the 37th minute when Malik Tillman missed a penalty after Juan Pablo Vargas put his studs into his ankle. The foul and a yellow card came after video review.
Tillman, who leads the U.S. with three goals, put the PK off the left post in the 37th minute. Arfsten tried to score on the rebound but Keylor Navas made the save for a corner kick, precipitating a near-brawl.
Luna made it 1-1 with an assist from Arfsten when his shot deflected off Costa Rican defender Alexis Gamboa. Four minutes later, Arfsten made amends for his penalty by scoring from a leading pass by Tillman.
Tillman hit the crossbar in the 76th while Martinez smacked the left post nine minutes later.
–Field Level Media
