Associated Press
Ghana’s John Pantsil, left, celebrates after fellow team member Asamoah Gyan, not visible, scored a goal as United States’ Herculez Gomez, right, is seen during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between the United States and Ghana at Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg, South Africa, Saturday, June 26, 2010.
Saturday, June 26, 2010 | 2:24 p.m.
The United States was eliminated from the World Cup by Ghana for the second straight time as Asamoah Gyan scored three minutes into overtime, leading the Black Stars to a 2-1 second-round victory Saturday.
Kevin Prince Boateng put Ghana ahead when he stripped the ball from Ricardo Clark in the fifth minute and beat goalkeeper Tim Howard from 16 yards.
Once again, the U.S. came back, with Landon Donovan tying the score with a penalty kick in the 62nd minute after Jonathan Mensah pulled down Clint Dempsey streaking in. But no matter how much the Americans pressured after Gyan scored, they couldn't tie it again.
In the first extra-time World Cup game for the U.S., Gyan got the winning goal when he took a long ball from Andre Ayew over the defense and beat U.S. captain Carlos Bocanegra, his teammate on the French club Rennes. Gyan let the ball bounce, took a touch with his chest, and, with Jay DeMerit vainly trying to catch up, scored over goalkeeper Tim Howard with a left-footed shot from 16 yards.
There was no late magic this time to equal Donovan's injury-time goal against Algeria that moved the Americans into the second round. The closest the U.S. came to tying it again was in the 98th minute, when Maurice Edu's header off Donovan's corner kick went wide.
Las Vegas' Herculez Gomez, playing in his third straight World Cup game, was inserted for the 30-minute overtime session at striker and helped lead the American's charge for a tying goal. He had one shot with around 10 minutes to play, but it was deflected wide.
With Howard pushed up, DeMerit's desperation long shot in the final minutes went over the crossbar. Then Dempsey sent a header wide.
At the final whistle, Howard consoled Bocanegra and Maurice Edu collapsed to the ground. Donovan exchanged jerseys with a Ghana player and walked off the field, put on a coat, sat on the bunch and hung his head.
Meanwhile, the only African team left in the tournament celebrated moving into the quarterfinals against Uruguay on Friday in Johannesburg.
Gomez, 28, was a surprise addition to the team in late May, going from a relative unknown to playing on soccer's biggest stage.
Gomez, a graduate of Las Vegas High, started and played the first half Wedesday in the American's 1-0 win against Algeria. He also played 12 minutes against Slovenia last week.
His World Cup journey started this spring when he became the first American-born player to lead Mexico's Premier Division in scoring, tallying 10 goals this year for Puebla F.C.
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