Fri Mar 14 12:56:18 2008

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Adu leads USA past Panama

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Tampa, FL (Sports Network) - Freddy Adu's 42nd-minute penalty kick was enough to lift the U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team to a 1-0 win over Panama on Thursday in 2008 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying.

The win moves the United States into second place in Group A and they will automatically advance with a win or draw against Honduras in their final group match on Saturday.

Panama played a very defensive game in the first half and was content to sit back and try to counter attack.

The Americans controlled much of the possession in the opening half but were unable to crack the tight Panama defense until the 42nd minute.

Eddie Gaven slipped a pass in behind the defense for Jozy Altidore, who got to the ball inside the area and touched it around Panama goalkeeper Jose Calderon. The onrushing Calderon did not react quickly enough and he had no choice but to bring Altidore down, earning the Americans a penalty kick.

Adu then drove his spot kick into the lower right corner for his second goal in as many games in this competition.

Stuart Holden almost doubled the lead for the USA in the 74th minute when he sent a dipping free kick over the wall that forced a diving stop from Calderon.

Panama did step up its attack in the final 15 minutes but American keeper Chris Seitz was never seriously tested and he easily recorded the clean sheet.

"I'm really pleased with the effort," said U.S. Under-23 MNT head coach Peter Nowak. "I think our team played with a lot of heart tonight and we got the result after a very hard fight on the field. We're going to recover now and make sure we're ready for the third game."