Antonee Robinson broke through the freeze in the air and the U.S. offense, scoring in the 52nd minute to lift the United States over El Salvador 1-0 in Columbus at Lower.com Field.
The win kept the Americans on track for a return to the World Cup.
The narrow victory on a 29-degree night that tied the record low temperature for a home American qualifier boosted the U.S. to 18 points with five games left.
The U.S. has two more chilly matchups in the next week and can move to the verge of a berth with victories at Canada and against Honduras at St. Paul, Minnesota.
The U.S. currently sits in second place in the CONCACAF standings, just two points behind Canada with five games left to play.
The top three teams will qualify for the World Cup in Qatar which starts in November. The fourth place team will compate in a one-game match against the fourth place team from the Oceania region in June for the right to qualify
