SEATTLE — The United States advanced to the semifinals of the Copa América Centenario on Thursday night, beating Ecuador, 2-1, in front of a boisterous home crowd at CenturyLink Field in Seattle.
Clint Dempsey scored in the 22nd minute and Gyasi Zardes added a goal in the 65th to put the U.S. ahead by 2-0. Michael Arroyo scored in the 74th minute for Ecuador.
The Americans will face either Argentina or Venezuela in the semifinals on Tuesday in Houston; those teams meet in a quarterfinal on Saturday night in Foxborough, Mass.
In reaching the semifinals, the Americans have made their deepest run in an intercontinental championship since the team lost in the final of the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa.