The Concacaf Gold Cup may have brought a new hero to the United States men's national team in Matt Freese. The unlikely goalkeeping star saved three Costa Rica penalties in a sudden-death shootout, and was instrumental in the USMNT advancing to the Gold Cup semifinals.

The USMNT found itself in a hole early when Costa Rica converted a penalty in the 11th minute after Arfsten lunged toward Kenneth Vargas, tackling him in the box. Francisco Calvo stepped up to the spot and nailed his shot past Matt Freese into the bottom right corner to give his team a 1-0 lead.