The final whistle blew in Santa Clara, Calif., and the stadium erupted. Players embraced and celebrated on the field.A solid performance turned defiant in the second half of the World Cup’s new round of 32, when the U.S. men’s national team went down to 10 men following the controversial sending-off of Folarin Balogun. The team grew stronger, got a cathartic free-kick goal from Malik Tillman and beat Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2-0 — the first World Cup knockout win for the U.S. men since 2002.The sold-out crowd began singing a famous rendition of “Country Roads,” with players arm in arm on the field enjoying it. Goalkeeper Matt Freese, who kept a clean sheet in that game, would later point to this as his favorite moment at the World Cup. It shouldn’t be hard to pick out his least favorite.Merely five days later in Seattle, he and the team were mired in despair, experiencing the highs and lows only sports can conjure all within a rapid, chaotic window.The U.S. was eliminated by Belgium, 4-1, thoroughly outplayed in the round of 16. But the third Belgian goal — the true back-breaker — came following a Freese error. He raced off his line and out of the U.S. box to track a long ball over the top. While he beat Belgian forward Charles De Ketelaere to the ball, he flubbed his left-footed attempt to clear the danger. He reacted by quickly trying to go with his right, but his kick hit off De Ketelaere and right to the waiting feet of Hans Vanaken.The Belgian midfielder wasted no time pouncing on Freese’s 57th-minute gaffe — which was then compounded by defender Tim Ream whiffing on an attempted block that would have prevented the goal. Instead, Vanaken’s shot bounced casually into the back of the U.S. net, and with that, for all intents and purposes, the Americans’ World Cup came to an end.