U.S. Calls on Defense to Tie South Korea : Soccer: Americans appear more organized and confident after a strong defensive effort.

Whatever tinkering, cajoling or group encounter sessions it took to organize the defense of the U.S. national soccer team paid off. While not erasing the memory of the lost weekend at Miami last month, Saturday night’s 1-1 tie against South Korea may have helped the U.S. defense regain its confidence.

Gone was the scrambling into position that marked the last two U.S. outings, a 1-1 tie against Bolivia and a 3-1 loss to Sweden. Those games were worse even than their scores suggest, and equally demoralizing. The true damage was to the psyche of the defensive players who were adjusting to a new alignment and the return of Marcelo Balboa at sweeper.

The U.S. defense even scored, but it also put one in for South Korea. Defender Desmond Armstrong scored the own goal, giving South Korea the lead in the first half, and Balboa scored after a free kick in the second half, as the U.S. team continued to capitalize on set plays.

The game, at Cal State Fullerton, was played before a sellout crowd of 10,319. Soccer officials said fans were turned away at the gates.

They missed a physical and hard-fought game.

“I felt we were pretty solid,” Armstrong said. “There was more communication out there, we all knew our positions. This will help our confidence.”

Armstrong looked more comfortable having been moved to right back, his natural position. Alexi Lalas played at center back, the position he played in college. Balboa played sweeper and Paul Caliguri started the game on the left side.

The back four were mostly successful in blunting South Korea’s speed, but the Koreans were nothing if not determined. When the United Sates clogged the midfield, South Korea attacked on the flanks with precision. Goalkeeper Brad Friedel was active and made a handful of spectacular saves.

There was little he could do about the first goal, which came in the 32nd minute. The United States lost possession in midfield and South Korea’s Kim Pan Keun’s chip shot glanced off Lalas’ head and onto Armstrong’s. He headed the ball back and it floated over Friedel’s outstretched arms.

“It’s instinct,” Armstrong said of his attempt to clear the ball. “The Korean player was on my back. If I didn’t hit it, he’s clearly open.”

Balboa scored in the 64th minute during a scramble in front of the net. Hugo Perez centered the ball on a corner kick and Thomas Dooley was among the U.S. players who leaped to head it. The ball banged to the ground and up to Balboa’s chest. He controlled it and sharply snapped it into the net.

The United States is gaining a deserved reputation for being dangerous on set plays. Lalas, in particular, is assigned to take part in free kicks. The chaos after the free kick in Saturday night’s game illustrated the opportunity the situations present.

“Perfectly executed debacle,” Lalas said, laughing at the idea the play was planned.

“It hit everybody it was supposed to hit. I don’t care how it gets there as long as it gets there. The idea is to put yourself in a position to be dangerous. You never know what will happen.”