U.S. ties Costa Rica in World Cup qualifier

WASHINGTON - When the final whistle blew in the U.S. soccer team's 3-2 win at Honduras on Saturday that clinched a berth in the World Cup, their fans back home expected tonight's final World Cup qualifying match to be a celebration.

But the mood turned sour early Tuesday morning, when star U.S. forward Charlie Davies was seriously injured in a car crash on a highway near the team's hotel.

Both players and fans arrived at RFK Stadium with heavy hearts. The task at hand, however, was the same as it was before: A win or tie against Costa Rica would clinch first place outright in the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying standings for the first time ever.

For most of the game, though, the many Costa Rican fans among the crowd of 26,243 were the ones celebrating. Bryan Ruiz scored twice midway through the first half, and Costa Rica appeared to be on the way to an upset win.

But defender Jonathan Bornstein scored on a corner kick in the final seconds of stoppage time in the second half, giving the U.S. a 2-2 tie and setting off wild celebrations among the home supporters.

In the 21st minute, Ruiz weaved through the American defense and slotted a low shot past Tim Howard from close range. Two minutes later, Ruiz broke free on the right flank and smashed a shot into the upper left corner of Howard's net from 15 yards out.

Costa Rica had plenty at stake in the match. A loss or tie would consign it to fourth place in the standings and a playoff against Uruguay for a World Cup berth.

It took until after Costa Rica's second goal for the U.S. offense to really start to move, but many of its chances were snuffed out by goalkeeper Keilor Navas.

The U.S. finally got on the scoreboard in the 72d minute. Michael Bradley, the son of head coach Bob Bradley, scrapped his way to a rebound of a shot by Landon Donovan and poked it into the net.

There were plenty of chances for the U.S. to tie the game after that. But between Navas' saves and the Americans' inability to finish chances, it took until the last possible moment for the U.S. to level the score.

It was a situation in which Davies could well have made a difference. But Bornstein came through in the end, leading to fireworks in the sky and raucous celebrations among players and fans alike.