SOCCER : U.S. Gives Up Four, Finishes Fourth

Colombia trounced the United States, 4-1, Saturday to take third place in the America Cup, avenging its 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Americans in the 1994 World Cup.

Colombia got goals from Luis Quinones in the 31st minute, Carlos Valderrama in the 39th, Faustino Asprilla in the 50th and Freddy Rincon in the 77th.

A penalty kick by Joe-Max Moore in the 52nd minute was the lone American score.

U.S. interim coach Steve Sampson attributed the loss to “exhaustion after the gigantic match against Brazil,” referring to the 1-0 defeat Thursday in the semifinals.

Brazil faces Uruguay for the title today.

Sampson made a number of changes, trying out players who had not previously appeared in the tournament after injuries sidelined Marcelo Balboa, Thomas Dooley, John Harkes and Eric Wynalda.

In addition to the injuries, midfielder Tab Ramos suffered an allergic reaction to medication taken after he was bitten by a spider.

Ramos, who came on in the 37th minute, said “we were climbing step by step and hoping to reach the final, but we stumbled against Brazil and our motivation to play for third place was not as high as in previous games.”

The U.S. defense was visibly tired and unable to cope with the speed of forwards Quinones and Asprilla and the skill of midfielders Rincon and Valderrama.

Quinones scored from a pass by Asprilla. Then Valderrama made it 2-0, scoring over the head of goalkeeper Kasey Keller from a pass by Quinones.

In the 50th minute, a free kick by goalkeeper Rene Higuita hit the crossbar, and Asprilla scored on the rebound.

Two minutes later, a penalty kick by Moore, after John Kerr had been tripped in the penalty area, narrowed the score to 3-1.

But the Colombians continued to attack and Rincon completed the scoring from in close.

“I saw a lot of yellow jerseys today,” Keller said. “We gave a good team too many opportunities, and when you do that you get punished. We have a lot of tired bodies and I hope this result doesn’t take the shine off the great job that every guy on this team has done.”

Sampson said he hoped to continue as coach of the team, but would support any decision made by Alan Rothenberg, president of U.S. Soccer, “even if he chooses a foreign coach.”