SOCCER Mexico blanks Americans to deny U.S. an Olympic berth

Mexico captured the region's last spot for the Athens Games.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) -- First, it was baseball. Now, it's soccer.
Mexico is steadily trimming the roster of U.S. athletes headed to the Athens Olympics.
A relentless Mexican soccer team overwhelmed the U.S. defense and stifled the Americans' offense Tuesday night, for a 4-0 victory and the region's last remaining place in the Olympics.
The defeat followed a Nov. 7 qualifying loss to Mexico, and will keep U.S. baseball players out of the games.
"In all areas of the game, they outplayed us," said U.S. coach Glenn Myernick, whose under-23 squad beat Mexico 3-1 last year.
The Mexicans repeatedly lofted passes into a penalty box flooded with attackers who often slipped loose from confused U.S. defenders.
"There were too many times tonight when our defenders didn't do a good enough job of slowing the attack down," Myernick said.
Lugo scores twice
Mexican forward Rafael Marquez Lugo, criticized earlier in the tournament for blowing easy scoring chances, scored twice -- at 27 and 55 minutes.
Diego Martinez and Ismael Iniguez also scored for Mexico, which would have had more goals if not for leaping saves by D.J. Countess and a blown open-net shot by Iniguez.
If American soccer players were bemoaning the failure to make the Olympics, Mexico seemed to be looking beyond Athens to a bigger prize, the 2006 World Cup.
The victory "is very important, because [the players] are going to face many more challenges, possibly in the World Cup in 2006," said Mexico coach Ricardo LaVolpe, who also guides the main national team.
"We have to bring youth, freshness, a new generation, and that has to be these young men who have shown they have what it takes to battle with anybody."
Created much interest
The game was so important here that major newspapers dedicated several full pages to the match. Almost 57,000 roaring, drum-beating fans turned out.
Both national Mexican television networks broadcast the game live. North of the border, it could be seen only at 190 restaurants scattered across the 50 states.
Spontaneous celebrations broke out in the streets of Guadalajara and Mexico City after the match.
The U.S. team featured World Cup players Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley who helped beat Mexico 2-0 in the 2002 World Cup.
Costa Rica defeated Honduras 2-0 earlier Tuesday for the other Olympic slot from the North and Central America and Caribbean region.
The United States had become a soccer nightmare for Mexico in recent years, winning more than it lost against a team that thinks of itself as the region's powerhouse. The greatest dent to Mexico's pride came in the second round of the World Cup in South Korea.
Myernick said with the elimination of soccer powers such as Brazil and the Czech Republic, "I think the Olympics in Athens is going to be wide open. ... Mexico has as good a chance as anybody."