“Mix Diskerud scored his first international goal in the third minute of injury time, giving the United States a 2-2 draw against Russia on Wednesday in a friendly at Krasnodar. Michael Bradley, who scored in the 76th minute, sent a long ball into the penalty area toward Terrence Boyd, who was marked by defender Sergei Ignashevich. The ball rebounded off Ignashevich to Diskerud, and the 87th-minute substitute sent a 20-yard, right-foot shot in off a hand of goalkeeper Vladimir Gabulov.” SI

U.S. fortunate to escape Russia with draw in final match of 2012
“The U.S. got a tie despite being largely outplayed. This was just a friendly, so there’s little reason to make much of the result, just as there was little reason to do so when the U.S. won at Italy and Mexico in friendlies earlier this year. That said, there’s still some value in bagging a tie even when you weren’t the better team on the day, and the U.S. managed to do so thanks to Mix Diskerud’s injury-time equalizer. Goalkeeper Tim Howard made several key saves that kept the U.S. in the game, and give some credit to subs Juan Agudelo and Terrence Boyd, who had knockdown header assists on the U.S. goals. It’s fair to ask if Michael Bradley may now be making The Leap. The Roma starter was the best player on the U.S. squad, continuing an upward trend in his play over the past year, and his opening strike from distance was a thing of beauty.” SI