Costa Rica Shuts Out U20s

US Men Fall in CONCACAF Final

March 16, 2009

MACOYA, Trinidad � The U.S. Under-20 men�s soccer team lost in the CONCACAF championship final Sunday, falling 3-0 to Costa Rica in front of a capacity crowd at Marvin Lee Stadium.

After already securing their place at the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup by winning Group A, the U.S. failed to win what would have been its first-ever regional title.

The U.S. entered the game with a 10-game unbeaten streak in CONCACAF qualifying, with its last defeat coming at the hands of Canada in 2002, They hadn�t conceded a goal in 628 minutes of CONCACAF qualifying, dating back to a 4-1 victory over Haiti in the opening match of Group B in 2007, two minutes short of the CONCACAF record, before Diego Estrada netted a goal in the 41st minute.

Goalkeeper Brian Perk, who kept four clean sheets in the tournament, gave way to Josh Lambo and Sean Johnson, who each played a half in the final. Including the goalkeeper switch, U.S. head coach Thomas Rongen made eight changes from the starting lineup that won Friday night�s semifinal game in a penalty shootout against Costa Rica.

"We made a lot of changes tonight to try to put ourselves in a situation to be successful, but also to look at some players under pressure," said Rongen. "I�m disappointed in the loss but overall satisfied with the way we�ve played throughout the finals. Getting to Egypt was our primary goal here, we reached that and to reach a final is a very good accomplishment for a team that came together in a very short amount of time. We did some very good things, and I think this team will represent us well in Egypt."

The two teams continued to exchange possession and attack at a high pace throughout the half, and in the 41st minute, Costa Rica finally broke through. Diego Estrada pounced on a loose ball in the U.S. defensive end. He took a couple of touches before hitting a low shot that got past Lambo at the near post.

Costa Rica doubled their lead in the 69th minute, with Urena setting up another dangerous chance and Martinez converting. On the dribble, Urena spotted Martinez streaking down the left wing and slipped the ball just out of reach of Wallace. Martinez did the rest, taking a touch and placing the ball past Johnson and inside the far post.

In the 80th minute, a long ball from the foot of Alvarado, the Costa Rican goalkeeper, would set up the Ticos� third goal. Guevara chased the ball down, beating the U.S. back line and was able to chip the ball over Johnson�s head to round out the score at 3-0.

U.S. UNDER-20 MEN�S NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT

Scoring Summary:
CRC � Diego Alonso Estrada (unassisted) 41st minute
CRC � Josue Martinez (David Alberto Guzman) 68th
CRC � Allen Guevara (Esteban Alvarado) 77th

Lineups:
USA: 18-Joshua Lambo (1-Sean Johnson, 46); 6-Amobi Okugo (15-Brian Ownby, 58, 5-Aaron Maund, 2-Kyle Davies (capt.), 11-Jorge Flores; 12-Bryan Arguez, 8-Jared Jeffrey, 3-Anthony Wallace; 14-Sam Garza (7-Daniel Cruz, 66), 16-Billy Schuler, 23-Brek Shea

CRC: 1-Esteban Alvarado; 2-Jose Antonio Mena, 5-Derrick Alberto Johnson (capt.), 6-Ricardo Jose Blanco, 7-Marcos Danilo Urena (11-Diego Josue Madrigal, 85), 8-David Alberto Guzman, 13-Allen Guevara, 14-Brian Jose Oviedo, 16-Diego Alonso Estrada (10-Carlos Hernandez, 90+), 17-Josue Martinez (9-Jorge Castro, 90+), 19-Jose Daniel Varela

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