The USA and Canada tied 28-28 on Saturday at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario, leaving it all even as the two teams go to San Diego next week for the deciding Americas 1 World Cup Qualifier game.

The two-game series will be decided on aggregate points, and since the first game was a tie, it's a simple job for both -- win on July 1.

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Canada had the run of play for much of the first half, holding onto possession and territory as the USA struggled to handle Welsh referee Ben Whitehouse's interpretation of releasing the tackled player in the ruck. Canada has center DTH van der Merwe for its scoring touch, as he raced in after supporting wing Andrew Coe on a break. Against the run of play, the Eagles came back with a break from wing Matai Leuta. He was caught, but big lock Nic Civetta was chugging along in support and took the pass off the ground before powering over.

But van der Merwe wasn't done. After a series of phases from Canada, the USA left the space around the ruck unpoliced, and van der Merwe picked up and just ran straight ahead to cut through and then touch down in the corner. That try made it 12-7 and also gave van der Merwe the all-time try record for Canada with 25. Soon the Eagles were under pressure again and somewhat unlucky to be penalized in the ruck. Shane O'Leary put the kick over, and Canada led 15-7.

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But the Eagles didn't fold. They finally got some time with the ball, and with Bryce Campbell looking effective, they made their way into the Canadian half. A penalty led to a lineout and maul, and Todd Clever made a crucial play. The captain almost made it to the tryline and might have been tempted to stretch over for the try. However, Clever also knew he would be at risk of a penalty for an extra movement or at risk of dropping the ball, so he curled around to present to his teammates. Civetta was in support again, and he picked up, stayed low, and scored. AJ MacGinty was good with the kick to cut Canada's lead to 15-14.

With time winding down in the first half, the Eagles had to defend again and eventually forced a knock-on in the USA 22. From there, Cam Dolan picked up and broke a few tackles. Nate Augspurger was with him and so was everyone else. The ball was spun back to the right. Marcel Brache was there and tried to pass inside. Augspurger saw the pass was low and kicked it ahead and gathered the ball, and then it was sent out to Mike Te'o, who did the rest.

It was a nice open-field team try, and, with MacGinty's conversion, gave the Eagles a 21-15 lead at halftime.

The second half put the stiff wind at the backs of the Canadians, and they looked to use it. Early on, James Hilterbrand was yellow carded for a dangerous tackle in Phil Mack. O'Leary hit the penalty. And then, Te'o knocked the ball on deep in his 22 after a long kick downfield, and that certainly put the USA under more pressure. But things turned around quickly. Canada had the numbers and looked good to score on their left side, but Te'o, knowing he had little option, went for the interception, got it, and raced 90 meters the other way for a momentum-changing try.

Twice the USA had scored against the run of play, and this try made it 28-18.

But Canada did have the wind, and the USA continued to make mistakes. One mistake in the lineout led to what looked like a try for Coe, but the wing dropped the ball as he dove over (a dive he didn't need to make). But with Dolan in the sin bin for collapsing a maul, it seemed like it was only a matter of time for Canada, and eventually, after some rather scary passing by the USA backs, Canada was on the tryline. Hands out to Aaron Carpenter put the veteran in at the corner. O'Leary hit the difficult conversion, and some minutes later tied the game with a penalty 28-28.

The USA had a shot at taking the lead, but MacGinty's drop goal attempt wobbled wide. It seemed fitting, really, for the game to end in a tie.

Neither team played particularly well. The USA's tackling was found lacking at times, and while the team's offload game tested Canada, the wild passing in the backline created far too many turnovers that gave Canada scoring opportunities.

For Canada, it created very little without van der Merwe or USA penalties and will hope for more of the same on Canada Day in San Diego.

Notes

Todd Clever got a nasty bash on his head and left for a blood substitution. He returned but left the game for good at 50 minutes. Ryan Matyas was a late scratch for the Eagles, and Te'o, who had been slated to start at fullback, was moved to wing and Ben Cima started at fullback. Cam Dolan was really solid for the USA.

USA 28

Tries: Civetta 2, Te'o 2
Convs: MacGinty 4

1. Tony Purpura 2. James Hilterbrand 3. Paddy Ryan 4. Ben Landry 5. Nick Civetta 6. Todd Clever (C) 7. John Quill 8. Cam Dolan 9. Nate Augspurger 10. AJ MacGinty 11. Matai Leuta 12. Marcel Brache 13. Bryce Campbell 14. Mike Te'o 15. Ben Cima
RESERVES16. Peter Malcolm 17. Ben Tarr 18. Dino Waldren 19. Matthew Jensen 20. David Tameilau 21. Andrew Durutalo 22. Shaun Davies 23. Will Magie

Canada 28

Tries: van der Merwe 2, Carpenter
Convs: O'Leary 
Pens: O'Leary 3

1. Djustice Sears-Duru 2. Ray Barkwill 3. Jake Ilnicki 4. Brett Beukeboom (C) 5. Evan Olmstead 6. Admir Cejvanovic 7. Matt Heaton 8. Tyler Ardron 9. Phil Mack 10. Shane O'Leary 11. Taylor Paris 12. Connor Braid 13. DTH van der Merwe 14. Andrew Coe 15. Ciaran Hearn
RESERVES 16. Benoit Piffero 17. Anthony Luca 18. Matt Tierney 19. Kyle Baillie 20. Aaron Carpenter 21. Gordon McRorie 22. Nick Blevins 23. Dan Moor