U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team loses 2-1 to Canada in friendly at 2012 Marbella Cup

The U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team conceded a late goal and suffered a 2-1 loss against Canada on Wednesday in an international friendly at the 2012 Marbella Cup at the Marbella Football Center in Spain.

Canada took the first-half lead through midfielder Samuel Piette in the 33^rd minute. Piette, who earned his first senior cap with Canada in a scoreless draw against the U.S. on June 3 at BMO Field in Toronto, received the ball off a corner kick near the left edge of the penalty box and found space near the goal. Piette fired a hard shot past U.S. U-20s goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh and into the net for a 1-0 lead.

The U.S. found the equalizer off the head of forward Mario Rodriguez in the 75^th minute. Following a strong run down the flank by midfielder Marc Pelosi, the Liverpool youth player cut back near the corner flag to create space and delivered a cross into the box that found Rodriguez six yards from goal to tie the match 1-1 with 15 minutes remaining.

Unfortunately, the lead wouldn’t hold as Vancouver Whitecaps forward Caleb Clarke received the ball near the top of the box after Canada forced a turnover in the U.S. zone and slotted a low shot past McIntosh for the game-winner in the 80^th minute.

Canada outshot the U.S. 10-9 overall, including 4-3 on goal and the sides combined to commit 35 fouls. Canada was issued three yellow cards to just one for the U.S.

The U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team faces Scotland on Friday, Oct. 12 at 3:30 p.m. local time (9:30 a.m. ET) in the second of three international friendlies during the 2012 Marbella Cup.

-U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team Match Report-

Match: U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team v. Canada U-20 Men
Date: Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012
Competition: 2012 Marbella Cup
Venue: Marbella Football Center; Marbella, Spain
Kickoff: 5:30 p.m. (11:30 a.m. ET)
Attendance: 150
Weather: 75 degrees

Scoring Summary:                1              2              F
USA                                        0              1              1
CAN                                        1              1              2

CAN – Samuel Piette                                                          33^rd minute
USA – Mario Rodriguez (Marc Pelosi)                                    75
CAN – Caleb Clarke                                                            80

Lineups:
USA: 1-Kendall McIntosh; 2-Boyd Okwuonu (13-Eric Miller, 69), 4-Shane O’Neill (Marc Pelosi, 65), 5-Will Packwood, 3-Javan Torre (15-Jonathan Top, 82); 6-Caleb Stanko (capt.), 10-Mikey Lopez (14-Luis Gil, 46), 8-Benji Joya; 7-Jerome Kiesewetter (17-Jose Villarreal, 46), 9-Mario Rodriguez, 11-Daniel Cuevas
Subs not used: 12-Zack Steffen
Head Coach: Tab Ramos

CAN: 1-Richard Gomes; 2-Jon Dollery, 3-Marco Lapenna, 4-Doneil Henry (capt.), 5-Manjrekar James; 6-Samuel Piette, 7-Michael Petrasso (17-Kevin Luarca, 69), 8-Bryce Alderson (16-Mauro Eustaquio, 82); 9-Caleb Clarke (14-Stefan Vukovic, 88), 10-Keven Aleman (20-Dylan Carreiro, 75), 11-Ben Fisk
Subs not used:12-Alan Zebie, 13-Alessandro Riggi, 15-Nikolai Paunic, 18-Quillan Roberts, 19-Jonathan Lao
Head Coach: Nick Dasovic

Stats Summary: USA / CAN
Shots: 9 / 10
Shots on Goal: 3 / 4
Saves: 2 / 2
Corner Kicks: 10 / 6
Fouls: 18 / 17
Offside: 2 / 4

Misconduct Summary:
CAN – Manjrekar James (caution)                                      54^th minute
CAN – Ben Fisk (caution)                                                  58
CAN – Doneil Henry (caution)                                           72
USA – Daniel Cuevas (caution)                                          72