U.S. Paralympic Soccer Team Drops Final Group Game to Netherlands 6-1 at 2004 Athens Paralympics on Thursday

The U.S. Paralympic team closed group play with at 6-1 loss to the Netherlands at the Helleniko Olympic Complex on Thursday (Sept. 23). The squad will now face Ireland in a game to determine seventh place at 10 a.m. on Saturday (Sept. 25).

U.S. To Play Ireland For Seventh Place on Saturday, Sept. 25

ATHENS, Greece (September 24, 2004) – The U.S. Paralympic team closed group play with a 6-1 loss to the Netherlands at the Helleniko Olympic Complex on Thursday (Sept. 23). The squad will now face Ireland in a game to determine seventh place at 10 a.m. on Saturday (Sept. 25).

Michael Peters scored the lone goal for the USA, the team's first of the tournament, five minutes into the second half to cut Holland's lead to 3-1, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Dutch team from scoring three more.

"I am disappointed with the loss," Peters said. "The final score doesn’t represent our performance. We played well in the first half and missed a couple of chances."

Peters is one of four players to play all 60 minutes in all three games for the USA, along with John Theobald, Derek Arneaud and Josh McKinney.

Martijn van de Ven netted a hat trick for the Netherlands, with goals in the 21st, 53rd and 58th minutes. Also tallying were Stephan Lokhoff in the 5th minute, Thieu van Son in the 12th minute and David Tetelepta in minute 48.

The U.S. team now prepares to face Ireland, which lost 7-2 to the Islamic Republic of Iran on Thursday. Holland will play Iran for fifth place at 12 p.m. on Saturday, immediately following the U.S. game.

Paralympic soccer is played seven-a-side by athletes with cerebral palsy, who have survived a stroke or sustained traumatic brain injury. Games consist of two 30-minute halves and each roster is made up of 12 players.

Scoring Summary
       1 2 F
NED 3 3 6
USA 0 1 1

ROUND 2
Date  Teams                                  Match        Venue    Local Time   ET
Sept. 25 Ireland vs. United States 7-8 Place  Athens   10:00 a.m.    3:00 a.m.
Sept. 25 Netherlands vs. Iran        5-6 Place  Athens   12:00 p.m.    5:00 a.m.
Sept. 25 Argentina vs. Brazil         Semifinal   Athens     2:00 p.m.    7:00 a.m.
Sept. 25 Ukraine vs. Russia          Semifinal   Athens     4:00 p.m.    9:00 a.m.

GROUP B
Date  Result                                  Venue  Local Time  ET
Sept. 19 Brazil 4, USA 0                 Athens  2:00 p.m.    7:00 a.m.
Sept. 19 Russia 7, Netherlands 1  Athens  4:00 p.m.    9:00 a.m.
Sept. 21 Russia 3, USA 0              Athens  10:00 a.m.  3:00 a.m.
Sept. 21 Netherlands 1, Brazil 6     Athens  12:00 p.m.  5:00 a.m.
Sept. 23 Russia 1, Brazil 2            Athens  2:00 p.m.    7:00 a.m.
Sept. 23 USA 1, Netherlands 6       Athens  4:00 p.m.    9:00 a.m.