Jonathan Spector came off the bench in the eighth minute while Brad Friedel was beaten from the penalty spot as the Hammers rode their fortune to three points in midweek action.
Clint Dempsey and Fulham will look to ride their unbeaten streak into a result in Rome while Tim Howard and the Toffees are looking for a bit of revenge when Benfica come to Goodison Park.
The United States were bounced out of the U17 FIFA World Championships 2-1 on Wednesday afternoon by a typical Italian side, defensively strong with moments of offensive brilliance to capture their two goals.
All three Yanks and their clubs will likely need to win out if they are to have a shot at the playoffs, with San Luis and Michael Orozco having the best shot as they sit in second place of Group
The United States will face perennial world soccer power Italy on Wednesday in the FIFA U-17 World Cup, and making it to the knockout stage of the tournament has been behind the backbone of a stingy defense.
Defender Connor Tobin has just wrapped up his first year of professional soccer but is unsure if he will be returning to Norwegian club Nybergsund-IL for a second season.
The late 1980's were a transformative time for USA soccer. While the NASL had begun the sharp decline that would eventually result in its collapse, a new generation of talented young American players began to emerge.
The United States U-17 team takes on Italy in a round of 16 match-up Wednesday night in Kaduna, looking to advance against the European powers in the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
Michael Bradley helped the Foals to a spectacular victory over Hamburg while Ian Joy did his part as Ingolstadt's defense registered their second straight shut-out in Heidenheim.
Benny Feilhaber and Jeremiah White both earned the start for Aarhus as dropped points in the last minute to Midtjylland while Michael Parkhurst went the distance in a losing effort for Nordsjaelland.