'We respond': USMNT found new motto after October win over Costa Rica in Columbus

It wasn't a promising start for the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team.

A minute into its World Cup qualifying match in October against Costa Rica at Lower.com Field in Columbus. the team was already down 1-0.

But instead of surrendering, the early adversity brought the national team together as the team scored the next two goals to take a 2-1 win on Oct. 27.

"Our motto is ‘we respond’, no matter what happens in the game because we know there’s going to be ebbs and flows and it’s not always going to be perfect," said goalkeeper Zack Steffen, who formerly played for the Columbus Crew, told reporters. "That’s just what happened tonight. "I’m very proud of the guys and how we responded."

USMNT coaches 'challenged the guys' after performance in Panama

“My initial thought was, ‘Here we go, we've got to respond,'" added USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter, a former Columbus Crew coach. "We challenged the guys to respond after a poor performance in Panama, and this was going to be another element that we needed to respond to.”

The team looks to take the "We Respond" philosophy into Thursday night's game against El Salvador.

Who does USMNT play after El Salvador?

The team will next play a pivotal matchup against CONCACAF leader Canada in Ontario on Jan. 30 before facing Honduras on Feb. 2 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

USMNT qualifying roster

(caps/goals as of Jan. 25) 

Goalkeepers (4): Sean Johnson (New York City FC; 9/0), Gabriel Slonina (Chicago Fire; 0/0), Zack Steffen (Manchester City/ENG; 26/0), Matt Turner (New England Revolution; 13/0) 

Defenders (9): Reggie Cannon (Boavista/POR; 22/1), Sergino Dest (Barcelona/ESP; 15/2), Brooks Lennon (Atlanta United; 1/0), Mark McKenzie (Genk/BEL; 8/0), Chris Richards (Hoffenheim/GER; 6/0), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 15/3), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United; 15/3), DeAndre Yedlin (Galatasaray/TUR; 71/0), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC; 23/2) 

Midfielders (7): Kellyn Acosta (LAFC; 45/2), Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig/GER; 22/1), Luca de la Torre (Heracles/NED; 4/0), Sebastian Lletget (New England Revolution; 33/8), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 28/8), Yunus Musah (Valencia/ESP; 11/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders; 30/0) 

Forwards (8): Brenden Aaronson (Red Bull Salzburg/AUT; 15/5), Paul Arriola (D.C. United; 42/8), Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas; 5/2), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders; 40/10), Ricardo Pepi (Augsburg/GER; 7/3), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea/ENG; 42/17), Tim Weah (Lille/FRA; 18/2), Gyasi Zardes (Columbus Crew; 66/14) 

Columbus Dispatch reporter Jacob Myers contributed to this story.