Questions were swirling around the United States National Team following its disappointing second-place finish in the group stage of the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, with some even wondering if coach Bob Bradley’s job was on the line in Sunday's match against Jamaica.

The Americans began to provide some good answers on a sunny afternoon in Washington D.C., defeating previously unbeaten Jamaica 2-0 in the Gold Cup quarterfinals with second half goals by midfielders Jermaine Jones and Clint Dempsey.

"We're getting stronger as the tournament goes on," United States goalkeeper Tim Howard said. "We were able to pick them apart a little bit. Defensively we played solid, and in the attack we created a lot of chances."

Jamaica nearly grabbed an early lead, forcing United States goalkeeper Tim Howard to make a difficult save in the fourth minute. Jamaica midfielder Dane Richards got loose down the right flank before playing a pass back to Rodolph Austin. Austin's looping ball found forward Ryan Johnson all alone in front of Howard but the American keeper made a diving point-blank save with his foot. Jamaica forward Luton Shelton made a mess of the follow-up chance, putting his shot high over the open net.

American forward Jozy Altidore, the United States leading scorer in the competition, came up holding his hamstring after a 10th minute run. He was substituted for 18-year-old Juan Agudelo in the 12th minute.

Even without Altidore, the United States began to dominate possession and take control of the match's rhythm. Midfielder Clint Dempsey put a sliding shot on goal in the 13th minute that Jamaica goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts pushed over the crossbar. Dempsey displayed great control one minute later by bringing down a pass from Michael Bradley, but his pass across the box didn't find an American attacker.

"In the first 25 minutes, we didn't get in our rhythm in terms of composure and ball position," Jamaica coach Theodore Whitmore said. "It's hard to play that game against a U.S. team that plays like that."

The United States turned up the pressure on Ricketts in the final ten minutes of the first half, creating six good goal-scoring chances but failing to break the deadlock.

Dempsey and midfielder Sacha Kljestan put long shots on frame that Ricketts pushed wide in the 36th and 39th minutes. Dempsey tried an overhead bicycle kick in the 40th minute, but put his shot over the bar. Midfielder Alejandro Bedoya headed wide of the far post in the 41st. One minute later, Midfielder Jermaine Jones had a look at an open net, but hit a shot off of his own leg and out of bounds. Defender Eric Lichaj's 44th-minute shot to the far post was saved by Ricketts, the Los Angeles Galaxy goalkeeper who made 10 saves on the afternoon for Jamaica.

The United States finally found the back of the net early in the second half. Jamaica defender Jermaine Taylor headed the ball out of his box right to Jones, who hit a long volley from the top of the box that deflected off Taylor and past Ricketts. The goal was Jones' first in his U.S. career.

"The first goal you score with the national team is special, and even more so that it was a very important goal for us tonight," Jones said.

Jones celebrated his goal with a military salute, a tribute to his serviceman father.

"It was my way of giving my father a little gift on Father's Day," Jones said about his post-goal celebration. "He was a soldier, so I thought it was a nice sign of respect."

The Americans continued to attack and were denied a second goal in the 61st minute by another Ricketts save. Defender Steve Cherundolo sent a cross in from the right flank that Dempsey headed on target from 5 yards out, forcing Ricketts to make an excellent reaction stop.

Jamaica's chances of a comeback were virtually extinguished in the 67th minute, when Taylor was shown a red card for his sliding challenge on a fast breaking Jones. Replays showed little contact on the play, but Jones went down in dramatic fashion, causing referee Marco Rodriguez to send Taylor off. Taylor left the field without protest.

Substitute Landon Donovan, who was left out of the starting lineup because he had only returned to Washington on Sunday morning after attending his sister's wedding, had a chance to score on his club teammate Ricketts in the 79th minute. Donovan ran past the Jamaican defense but was forced to pass the ball back to Dempsey when Ricketts charged out of his net. Dempsey passed up a long shot on the open net and passed instead to Donovan, who was whistled for offside.

Dempsey redeemed himself one minute later, scoring the 21st goal of his national team career. Donovan played Agudelo in down the right flank and the forward put his cross between the Jamaican defender's legs to an open Dempsey in front of goal. Dempsey maintained his cool on the ball, took two touches as Ricketts came sliding out, and passed the ball into the net for a 2-0 United States lead in the 80th minute.

"I was disappointed with my performance against Guadeloupe," Dempsey admitted about the US team's last match. "I wanted to make sure that I came out today and did whatever I could to help the team win, and I was able to get the goal that sealed it."

The United States will have an opportunity for revenge when they meet Panama in Wednesday's semifinal in Houston. Panama handed the Americans their first ever Gold Cup group stage loss last week, defeating the United States 2-1 in Tampa, Fla.

Panama striker Luis Tejada scored an 89th minute goal Sunday to send his team's quarterfinal match against El Salvador into extra time, and the Panamanians won a penalty kick shootout 5-3 to advance to the semis. Mexico and Honduras will meet in the other semifinal.

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