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. Cheap Lions Super Bowl Jerseys . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. Tavon Wilson Jersey . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse. http://www.cheaplionsjerseysonline.com/?tag=levine-toilolo-jersey-online . Olli Jokinen, Mark Scheifele, and Bryan Little each had a goal and an assist as Winnipeg won 5-2, handing Calgary its record-setting seventh consecutive loss on home ice. Glover Quin Jersey . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2. T.J. Jones Jersey . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. VINTON, La. -- Once he got the lead, nobody was going to catch Gunnevera, who raced to victory in the $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot for 2-year-olds Saturday at Delta Downs Racetrack.Ridden by three-time Eclipse Award winner Outstanding Jockey Javier Castellano, Gunnevera ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:45:15 and won by 5 3/4 lengths over Hot Sean. Gunnevera paid $7.80, $4.40 and 3.40.The race worked out perfectly for us, Castellano. When I asked him to go he went. This is a good horse who will develop. I think he will be better at the longer lengths.Gunnevera earned $600,000 and 10 points in the chase for the Kentucky Derby. The Delta Downs Jackpot is part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby Series which gives points to horses in selected races and is the second-richest race for 2-year-olds in North America behind only the Breeders Cup for Juveniles.Bob Baffert trained Hot Sean ($5.40, $4.20) earned four points, and Dangerfield ($8) was third and picked up two points. J Boys Echo finished fourth and received the last point awarded.Gunnevera needed a little time to get going but was in compleete control down the stretch, pulling away from the field.dddddddddddd Trained by Antonio Sano, Gunnevera made a winner out of relative racing newcomer Peacock Racing Stables.This is a great win for us, co-owner Jaime Diaz said. He exceeded our expectations with the way he ran. We think he is going to develop into a very fine horse but we have to wait and see.For Diaz and his partners, the victory was a big step in the direction they want to take their racing team.We are one of the little guys and we are trying to get where the big guys are, Diaz said. The only way you do that is to win and to win big races.Diaz said that he will let Sano decide on what path Gunnevera will take in the future.We have a great trainer and we trust him, Diaz said. This was a big step for us but there is still a long way to go.In only her second career start Shanes Girlfriend won the $400,000 Delta Downs Princess Stakes for 2-year-old fillies. She was ridden by Flavien Prat. 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