By Noah Zimmerman | noah@queensledger.com
Penalty heroics by New York City FC goalkeeper Matt Freese sent the United States through to the CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinals over Costa Rica. After a dramatic 2-2 match, the American shotstopper came up with a series of stops in the shootout.
The first to step up was Freese’s teammate Alonso Martinez, the leading goalscorer back in New York. Martinez was calm and collected, winking before slotting his spot kick down the middle. It would end up being the only shot Freese didn’t get a hand to.
Freese saved the second shot, this time diving to his left. On the third he went left again, but his touch couldn’t keep the shot out. Sebastian Berhalter followed that up with the first miss for the US, leveling the shootout after three rounds.
Freese came close to another save to his right, but again wasn’t able to keep the Costa Rican penalty out. This time Alex Freeman converted for the Americans to keep it tied entering round five.
With the game on the line, Freese came alive. With the Minnesota crowd behind him he made his second save of the shootout against Francisco Calvo, who had opened the scoring for Los Ticos from the penalty spot in the 12th minute. This time legendary goalkeeper Keylor Navas answered with a save on John Tolkin to extend the match.
By this point, Freese was in the zone. The whole stadium knew what was coming and sure enough “Matty Ice” pounced to his right for a definitive stop against Andy Rojas. Damion Downs converted the final penalty for the US, ending an enthralling quarterfinal match.
On Wednesday night, the US took the field against semifinal debutants Guatemala. La Azul also advanced in a shootout, stunning Canada in an all-time Gold Cup upset. The other semifinal matchup pinned cup-holders Mexico against El Salvador, seeking their first appearance in the final since 1981. The CONCACAF Gold Cup Final is Sunday, July 6 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. Kickoff will be at 7pm on Fox.
Back in the Northeast, New York City FC will be eagerly awaiting the return of their top goalscorer and shotstopper. They sit in the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference as the season enters the final 15 matches. There is still plenty of time to secure a postseason berth, but NYC needs to build some momentum quickly in order to secure a top seed.
