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In Czech U.S. can't hold lead, settles for tie in Olympic opener
CANBERRA, Australia (Ticker) -- The good news and the bad news is one in the same for the U.S. Olympic soccer team -- youth.
The under-23 squad outplayed the Czech Republic on Wednesday night, but blew a pair of leads and settled for a 2-2 tie in the Olympic preliminary opener for both teams.
Chris Albright and Josh Wolff scored for the Americans, who allowed the Czechs to tie it with a costly penalty before failing on several golden scoring opportunities in the closing minutes.
Albright put the United States ahead with his second international goal in the 21st minute, but Marek Jankulovski weaved his way through several defenders and blasted a shot by goalkeeper Brad Friedel from the top of the box.
Conor Casey and Wolff showed off their speed for the go-ahead goal in the 44th minute as Wolff slid in the box to redirect his first international goal past Jaroslav Drobny.
But the U.S. gave back the goal in the 52nd minute when Chad McCarty took down Marek Heinz with hard tackle in the box. Lukas Dosek converted the penalty kick for the equalizer.
Heavy underdogs entering the Games, the Americans did not quit. They had several great scoring chances in the final 25 minutes, with Wolff and Casey both failing to score off breakout passes. They will have a chance to rebound Saturday night against Cameroon. The U.S. also plays Kuwait out of Group C as it tries to make it to the second round of the Olympics for the first time.
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