SOCCER : MEN TIE PORTUGAL; OUT OF COMPETITION.

Byline: James Warren Chicago Tribune

On a sultry evening marked by near misses, a tactical blunder and a frenzied American rally, the U.S. men's soccer team was left in the cold Wednesday with a 1-1 tie with Portugal and another early exit from the Olympics.

When an equivalent to injured gymnast Kerri Strug's final vault the previous night was needed, the U.S. merely stumbled. Given several surprise, late openings by a more composed opponent, it failed to both take advantage and make the second round for the first time.

The U.S. found itself in a mid-summer's night fix before a record 58,012 at RFK Stadium as a result of an opening, 3-1 defeat to gold medal favorite Argentina in Birmingham, Ala., and subsequent 2-0 defeat of Tunisia. On an international stage, their showings were respectable, but little more.

Not surprisingly the contest opened with the U.S. attacking and a more experienced Portugal, needing just a tie to advance, laying back and looking for the occasional counterattack.

A hint of things to come was a rush down the right wing, resulting in a corner by star U.S. forward Claudi Reyna and an uncontested header sent over the goal by forward Jovan Kirovski, a Californian who plays for Manchester United's reserves in the English Premier League. The miscue suggested the dividing line between starters and subs in the big time.