For the second time ever, the U.S. men’s national team is through to the Copa America semifinals. On Thursday night in Seattle, the U.S. produced another convincing display to beat Ecuador 2-1 in the quarterfinals and set up a date with the winner of Argentina-Venezuela on Tuesday.
Clint Dempsey continued to shine brighter than the North Star, grabbing a fine header goal in the first half and an assist in the second half as the hosts held on frantically late for the win. After Dempsey’s goal gave the U.S. all the momentum, things evened out early in the second half when two boneheads did the unthinkable, resulting in each team losing a player.
Playing 10 on 10, Dempsey was back at it in the second half setting up Gyasi Zardes for the team’s winning goal 65 minutes in. Michael Arroyo got one back for Ecuador off a fine set piece with just over 15 minutes to go, setting up a wild finish, which saw Ecuador striker Enner Valencia miss two golden headers in front of the goal, but the U.S. held on to the 2-1 victory and moved on.
After losing the cup opener, the U.S. is playing better in each match, just at the right time.

cbssports.com