MACHICO, PORTUGAL (March 4, 2003) - The U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team drew 1-1 with Portugal today in their opening match of the 7th Annual Madeira International Tournament. Mike Magee netted the USA's the lone goal as the U.S. grabbed a point against the host nation. The U.S. next takes on Norway tomorrow at 2 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET), before closing out round-robin play against a Madeira Regional Select Team on March 7 at 10 a.m. local time (5 a.m. ET).

"For 65 minutes we were clearly the better team, but we tired in the later stages of the match and unfortunately conceded the equalizer," said U.S. head coach Thomas Rongen. "We are a good team and if we can sustain the level of play we showed for the first 60 minutes or so, then we can get to where we want to be. We are getting there slowly but surely."

Mike Magee opened the scoring for the United States just after halftime, pouncing on a rebound from a well-saved blast by forward Knox Cameron.

The Portuguese side countered 13 minutes later, with forward Lourenco taking advantage of slack U.S. defending. In the end, Rongen was pleased with the result.

"I think both teams had chances to win but both goalkeepers made some good saves and both defenses played pretty well," Rongen said. "We are showing some signs of improvement, after a pretty good lesson against Colombia. We responded well to the adversity and continued with another solid effort this evening."

Rongen expects to make several changes for the second match against Norway on Wednesday, with the USA's final match of the tournament slated for Friday.

The U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team is in final prepartion for the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship in United Arab Emirates. The U.S. opens against Paraguay on March 27, then faces Germany on March 30 and concludes group play on April 2 against Korea, with all three of their first round games at Abu Dhabi’s Al-Nahyam Stadium. The top two teams from each group and the top four (of six) third-place teams advance to the Round of 16. The U.S. is one of only five teams to qualify for the last four World Youth Championships, and one of only two teams (Brazil is the other) to finish in the top 15 in each of the last four.

 - U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team Game Report -

Participants:  U.S. Under-20 MNT vs. Portugal
Competition:  Madeira Tournament
Venue: Estadio Do Machico - Portugal
Date: March 4, 2003
Weather: 75 degrees, sunny

Scoring Summary:
                    1st     2nd     Final
USA              0         1         1
Portugal         0         1         1
 
USA - Magee             50th minute
POR - Lourenco         63rd

Lineups:
USA: 1-Steve Cronin; 2-Jordan Harvey,  4-Chad Marshall, 5-Ryan Cochrane; 8-C.J. Klaas; 3-Justin Mapp, 11-Ricardo Clark, 10-Bobby Convey (capt.), 13-Devin Barclay; 9-Mike Magee (19-Ned Grabavoy, 84), 17-Knox Cameron (15-David Johnson, 84)
Subs not used: 6-Jordan Stone, 7-Arturo Alvarez, 14-Frank Simek, 16-Heath Pearce, 18-Ford Williams, 20-Drew Moor,  21-Justin Moose.
 
POR: 1-Bruno Vale; 2-Laranjeiro, 3-Vitor Rodrigues, 4-Andre Vilas Boas (17-Filipe Falardo, 66), 5-Pedro Ribeiro; 6-Raul Meireles, 7-Mario Carlos (18-Jose Castro, 73), 8-Davide, 9-Joao Paiva (16-Custodio Castro, 34); 10-Danny (11-Rui Figueiredo, 60), 13-Lourenco.
Subs not used: 2-Leandro, 14-Miguel Garcia, 15-Luis Alfonso, 19-Miguel, 20-Faria

 Statistical Summary:

           USA     POR
Shots   8  /  9
Saves   7  /  3
Corner Kicks   7  /  6
Fouls   12  /  13
Offside   2  /  0

Misconduct Summary:
USA – Klaas (caution) 14th minute.
USA - Convey (caution)     52
POR - Lourenco (caution)  58