Dein erstes Forum » time to do so if he does start. That is no easy task.

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. -- Brek Shea didnt expect to get off the bench Tuesday night. When he did, he grabbed the role of hero for the United States. Shea, who struggled in an earlier Gold Cup appearance, scored his first international goal off a feed from Landon Donovan in the 82nd minute, giving the United States a 1-0 victory over Costa Rica and the top spot in its group. Seconds after Sean Johnson made a brilliant save off a corner kick, Joe Corona cleared the ball, setting up the winning sequence. The veteran Donovan, trying to work his way back into a starring role on the national team after a self-imposed hiatus, took the ball on the right side. He quickly spotted Shea, who came on just five minutes earlier, streaking down the middle. Donovans pass hit Shea in stride, and the Stoke City player sent a left-footed shot from 15 yards off goalkeeper Patrick Pemberton for the winner, the Americans eighth straight victory, a team record. "Its good," Shea said, downplaying his massive contribution after struggling earlier in the tournament. "First U.S. goal, only goal of the game, it wins the group. Really good. "I still prepare the same way, but honestly, no," he added when asked if he thought coach Jurgen Klinsmann would use him. Klinsmann did call on Shea, showing faith in a player who has had his ups and downs in the national program. "We have a lot of young players coming through the ranks," Klinsmann said. "All these players, we need to carefully build them and support them when things go wrong. Eventually, it will pay off." The Americans will play El Salvador in the quarterfinals Sunday in Baltimore, while Costa Rica meets Honduras in the knockout round. Sheas goal broke a 785-minute string without being scored upon for Costa Rica. It followed Johnson, considered a fourth-stringer at best in the net for the United States, making a clutch stop on Carlos Johnson. "Once I made the save, we just tried to get it out of there," Sean Johnson said. "Then I saw it cleared and were breaking the other way. It created an opportunity and we finished it." The match was played in slightly different conditions than the last time the nations met. That was in a blizzard in Denver, with the United States edging Costa Rica 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier. Tuesday night, there was plenty of moisture on the pitch just before kickoff, but it came from sprinklers trying to keep the turf in shape during a northeastern heat wave. With both sides already having clinched moving on in the CONCACAF championship, not much happened offensively until late in the match in front of 25,432. Early in the second half, Costa Rica captain Pemberton came out of his net, collided with a teammate outside the area and then had the ball hit him squarely in the hands. He was given only a yellow card, however, then immediately made saves on Jose Torres curling free kick and Donovans shot off a rebound. That sequence opened up play for a while, but then it deteriorated into sloppiness and some roughness in midfield between teams with no love lost. U.S. captain DaMarcus Beasley took a nasty spill and was run over by Rodney Wallace early in the match. A woozy Beasley sat out three minutes before returning -- and almost immediately stripped the ball from Wallace. His teammates struggled to link up, showing their lack of familiarity with each other, through the first 20 minutes. Klinsmanns charge is to find the right combinations to get the Americans into the World Cup -- they lead CONCACAF qualifying through six games with 13 points, while Costa Rica is next with 11 -- and then perform well in Brazil. Hes using the Gold Cup to test as many players as possible, while giving most of the national team regulars who have done so well in qualifying a breather. "Its good giving them a taste of these kind of battles," Klinsmann said of using multiple lineups. "Well keep on building this and giving them opportunities whenever possible." Neither goalkeeper was particularly threatened until U.S. defender Clarence Goodson got free on the left side of the box late in the first half. His left-footed drive was deflected out of bounds by the defence. Costa Rica played a tightly packed defensive style for much of the match, but coach Jorge Luis Pinto felt his players handled themselves well. "The only thing we lacked was getting the goal," Pinto said. "The United States got the goal, we didnt." Notes: The other quarterfinals have Mexico vs. Trinidad and Tobago, and Cuba vs. Panama on Saturday in Atlanta. ... Costa Rica had won eight straight internationals. ... The shutout was the first against the Ticos in 12 Gold Cup matches. ... The United States is 13-12-6 all-time against Costa Rica. Larry Johnson Jersey . -- For the first time in two months, an opponent was standing up to Alabama. Larry Johnson Youth Jersey .C. -- Calgarys Kevin Koe did it the hard way again. http://www.thechiefsshoponline.com/Youth-Larry-Johnson-Chiefs-Jersey/ . The CFLs leading rusher kept adding to his gaudy numbers this season and scored the winning touchdown with just over two minutes to play. The New Westminster, B.C., native plowed three yards into the end zone for the last score of a heated, see-saw battle between the two teams with the best records in the CFL. Len Dawson Womens Jersey . 9. Price, heading to the 2014 Olympics for Canada, was named the First Star after posting wins in three starts with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .971 save percentage. Marcus Allen Chiefs Jersey . -- Hunter Smith scored the winner with just 12 seconds remaining in the third period as the Oshawa Generals edged the host Sarnia Sting 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Florida State coach Jimbo Fishers week started with some good news.Both defensive end DeMarcus Walker and quarterback Deondre Francois are expected to be in action when the Seminoles play at Syracuse on Saturday. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. ET at the Carrier Dome with the game featured in a split telecast between ABC and ESPN2.Walker leads the No. 17 Seminoles (7-3, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) with 11 sacks, an average of 1.1 per game that ranks in a tie for third in the country. He was seen wearing a protective boot near the end of last weeks win over Boston College, but he is expected to play against the unranked Orange (4-6, 2-4 ACC).Francois, who is passing for 267.5 yards a game, sat out the fourth quarter to protect a shoulder injury, but Fisher said the redshirt freshman could have played if needed. Obviously, he wasnt needed over the final 15 minutes of the 45-7 rout of the Eagles.But tempering the good news: Defensive back Derwin James has finally been ruled out for the rest of the season. He hasnt played since injuring his knee in the second game of the season.Fisher also noted one other lineup change for this week. Junior Rich Leonard, who started the first four games, will be back at right tackle after sophomore Brock Ruble, who started the past six outings, sustained a groin injury against Boston College.Once he got going in the game, he picked up two or three really nice twists, Fisher said of Leonard. Played physical. Did a nice job.The injury report on the other side isnt as optimistic.Orange quarterback Eric Dungey, who sat out last weeks loss to North Carolina State after sustaining an injury to his head or upper body against Clemson a week earlier, is considered doubtful. Coach Dino Babers seems to be taking things in stride.As a football coach and as a football player, that stuff happens all the time, Babers said. Guys get hurt. Thats what makes our game so unpredictable, and its also the thing that makes our game so cool. ... You do get aan opportunity to hit a star.dddddddddddd.He compared that to basketball with untouchable superstars such as Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.In basketball, you dont get to touch Michael Jordan or you get in trouble, he said. You get in trouble if you touch Magic. In football, you get to touch them as long as you play within the rules.As a football player, guys get hurt and guys come back, and we embrace the ideal of finding a way to find the next man to step up.In this instance, that would be Zack Mahoney. The junior didnt put up big numbers last week against N.C. State -- he completed 14 of 25 passes for 190 yards, a little over 100 yards fewer than Dungey is averaging a game -- but he wasnt helped by an anemic running game that produced just 28 yards.Its not Zacks job to play like Eric, although if he wants to, Im all for it, Babers said. What we expect is for the other 21 guys to elevate their game so that Zack can play under control and we still have an opportunity to win.Mahoney did show the ability to throw the ball down the field but will have to rely on the offensive line to give him time to do so if he does start. That is no easy task. The Seminoles have 33 sacks for the year.We would all love to have Eric, but the next guy has to step up, and thats exactly what Zack did (Saturday), Syracuse running back Dontae Strickland said. He did what he had to do, and offensively we didnt put up the numbers we usually do, but its different with a different team captain on the field. But well come back next week, so we just have to improve.One thing to watch for: Florida State running back Dalvin Cook goes into the game needing just 19 yards to become the programs all-time leading rusher. The junior has run for 1,242 yards this year, giving him 1,941 for his career. Warrick Dunn is the all-time leader with 1,959 yards from 1993-96. ' ' '