United States settle for draw with Peru after conceding late goal

Edison Flores scored a late second-half goal for Peru as the United States settled for a 1-1 draw against the South American side on Tuesday night in a friendly match. 

U.S. caretaker manager Dave Sarachan made nine changes from the lineup that featured in the squad's 3-2 loss to Colombia last week. Back in goal for the U.S. was veteran Brad Guzan, who earned his 59th international cap -- one more than the rest of the starting XI combined. 

Among the three U.S. players making their international debut at Rentschler Field was Jonathan Amon, who in the 15th minute nearly found an unmarked Tim Weah in the box on a run but sailed the final ball too wide.

The rest of the first half saw the U.S. play on the defensive due to some sloppy passing but succesfully prevented Peru from mounting any serious attacks to keep the game scoreless.  

The U.S. came out the break looking sharp, which immediately paid dividends at the 48th minute. Earning a free kick from a wide angle outside the penalty box, Kellyn Acosta pulled back the ball on the set-piece to tee up Josh Sargent's low-lying shot that deflected off Peruvian midfielder Renato Tapia into the back of the net. 

Peru nearly tied it at the 75th minute when winger Andy Polo unleashed a shot from 30 yards out that hit the crossbar over a diving Guvan. The ball took a favorable bounce for the visitors but striker Raul Ruidiaz sent a header high into the stands. 

But the equalizer came in the 86th minute. Polo took advantage of bad positioning by the U.S. backline to arch through a cross and find Flores at the far post for the goal. 

The Peruvian side featured just four players from the side that qualified for the World Cup in Russia, and was missing star striker Paolo Guerrero, who is serving a 14-month doping ban.

Michael Bradley came off the bench in the second-half to earn his 142 cap for the United States, moving past Clint Dempsey and only behind Cobi Jones (164) and Landon Donovan (157) for most all-time appearances.  

The match was the last home tilt for the Americans on the year, who have matches against England and Italy in November during the next international break.