Mexico face Costa Rica in the semi finals of the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup following a convincing 4-0 win over Haiti in the quarters.

The opening goal came on 23 minutes. Israel Castro had a penalty saved my keeper zephirin but Miguel Sabah smashed it home on the rebound.

A powerful shot from Giovanni Dos Santos made it 2-0 with three minutes left in the first half and the Barcelona player delivered a corner that allowed Sabah to head home a third in minute 63.

The fourth and final goal came after another corner from Dos Santos, with substitute forward Pablo Barrera volleying home from the edge of the penalty area.

Another highlight in this game was the amount of spectators that found their way to Arlington’s Cowboys Stadium, with no less than 81,000 fans watching from the stands.

Mexico play their semi final game against Costa Rica on Thursday, in a match that is to be played at Chicago’s Soccer Field.

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Damion Stewart’s goal with two minutes remaining in regulation helped salvage a 2-2 draw for the Reggae Boyz against Haiti in an international friendly before about 8,000 fans.

”We showed a lot of spirit, a lot of heart and a lot of determination,” Jamaica coach John Barnes said. “The players showed all the qualities teams need to come back.”

Stewart sprinted toward the left post, received Jason Morrison’s free kick and headed in a shot past Haiti goalkeeper Peterson Occenat.

”I motioned to Jason to put it high because I had the height advantage,” Stewart said.

Haiti seemed headed to victory after Jean Robens Jerome broke a 1-1 tie with his second goal of the match in the 65th minute. Raymond Ednerson’s crossing pass from the left wing found Jerome near the 6-yard box, where he successfully converted on a shot past Jamaica goalkeeper Shawn Sawyers.

The duo also teamed to score Haiti’s game-tying point late in the first half. Ednerson sent a pass from the left wing to an open Jerome, whose shot just outside the 6-yard box eluded Sawyers.

Ednerson’s playmaking and passing from the left wing area nearly put Haiti ahead in the 42nd minute. Ednerson ran uncontested deep toward the left wing and sent a pass near the far post to an open Leonel Saint Preux.

But Saint Preux took too long to set up a shot, allowing Sawyers time to easily stop Saint Preux’s attempt from 18 yards.

Jamaica struck first on Nicholas Addlery’s goal in the 26th minute. Addlery eluded the Haiti defense and ran uncontested toward the large area for a one-on-one opportunity against Occenat.

Occenat left the goal area and made a leg save off Addlery’s first shot, but Addlery beat Occenat to the loose ball and tapped in an open shot inside the 6-yard box.

Jamaican defender Claude Davis and Haiti midfielder Vaniel Sirin collided violently in the midfield area and remained on the ground for three minutes.

Both players reached their feet, but the play resulted in Davis’ second yellow card of the match and a subsequent ejection.

Jamaica and Haiti used Saturday’s match as a tuneup for the 12-team CONCACAF Gold tournament in June. Jamaica will return to South Florida for a first-round Gold Cup match against El Salvador on July 10 at FIU Stadium.

Haiti opens Gold Cup play against Honduras on July 4 in Seattle.

”We are growing with each match,” Haiti coach Jairo Rios said. “This was just another opportunity to evaluate our team.”

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With that in mind, the club said all along it would select whom it deemed the best player left with its No. 12 pick regardless of position or playing experience. RSL decided the player that fit that billing best was forward Jean Alexandre from Lynn University.

“He is extremely athletic, extremely strong and very versatile,” said RSL coach Jason Kreis. “We played against him in training camp down in Florida in 2008, and he was the best player on the field that day, and that includes our players on the team.

“From that moment on, we started looking at how we could sign him and found out he was playing in college, so the only way to get him was through the draft. We are very excited to get him. We were nervous that he would be picked before our selection, so for him to slide down to us was a great relief.”

Alexandre is a native of Haiti and was called up to the Haitian National Team in 2008, making three appearances. He was a four-year player at Division II Lynn, where he was named the 2008 Sunshine State Conference Player of the Year. He also earned a first-team All-American selection according to Daktronics.

“It still hasn’t sunk in all the way. I am still trying to process the fact that I really was drafted and will be playing professional soccer,” said Alexandre. “It has always been a dream of mine to play professionally, and now I am excited that I have the chance to do it with Real Salt Lake.

“I think what I can bring to the team is my physical presence,” he added. “I can win balls in the middle on the ground or in the air, and God has blessed me with the physical skills to be a strong, good soccer player.”

Listed at 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds, Alexandre led Division II in points per game. He scored 23 goals and had seven assists in 19 games played. Through his career, he totaled 34 goals and 16 assists in 63 total games.

“He is very good with the ball, and can cover a lot of ground. We feel he can play four, five or even six positions for us,” added Kreis. “He is an outstanding player with unlimited potential.”

Having previously traded their second- and third-round pick, Real had to wait until the pick No. 54 to select Raphael Cox out of the University of Washington. The 5-foot-7, 145-pounder is a left-footed, wide midfielder. He was a three-year starter and two-time Pac-10 honoree. He finished his collegiate career with 14 goals and 17 assists.

RSL surprised even the people in charge of the MLS draft with its No. 57 selection. The team grabbed Futhi Bhembe from Alabama A&M. Bhembe is a relative unknown. He is a 26-year-old forward and was the fifth-leading scorer in all of college soccer.

“I think we added some interesting players,” said RSL general manager Garth Lagerway. “In Alexandre, we thought he was the best athlete at the combine and we are excited to get him. With the others, we will see if they can come in and make our squad. We think they have a chance to do that.”

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