U.S. Beach Soccer Team falters at Intercontinental Cup Dubai 2012

The U.S. Beach Soccer Team played a couple closely contested matches, but couldn’t earn a victory at the Samsung Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup Dubai 2012.

The USA kicked off the group stage of the competition on Oct. 30 with a 9-1 loss against the tournament’s defending champion Russia. Despite the lopsided result in the first match, the U.S. was competitive in its remaining group games.

The host United Arab Emirates was able to topple the U.S. 5-3 in the second group match on Oct. 31, while the USA couldn’t get past Tahiti in a 5-4 loss in the final match of play in Group A.

The U.S. didn’t advance to the knockout rounds where Russia successfully defended its title, beating Brazil in the championship match, 7-4. The UAE earned third-place with an 8-7 win against Nigeria.

Andrew Feld and Nick Perera scored two goals apiece to lead the U.S. during the competition.