The United States Under-15 BNT lost its second game at the Concacaf Championship, falling 2-1 against host nation Costa Rica on Wednesday.

LA Galaxy Academy standout Ikenna Chidebe continued his star turn, providing the lone goal for the United States. In the end, the USA couldn’t rally from Costa Rica’s 2-0 lead, and were unable to beat Costa Rica goalkeeper Sebastian Leiva, who had an excellent game.

After a strong start from the United States, it was Costa Rica that opened the scoring against the run of play. Caleb Flores scored just over five minutes into the game, finishing a cross at the far post to make it a 1-0 game.

Just over 10 minutes later, Costa Rica grabbed a second. From a U.S. corner kick, the host nation broke down the right flank. Defender Finn McCraney fouled the Costa Rican attacker, and Jefrey Urbina smashed the penalty past U.S. goalkeeper Emmanuel Arias.

In the 38th minute, Chidebe scored the lone goal of the game for the United States. Picking up the ball on the left side near the touch line, the Costa Rica back line didn’t close him down. The Galaxy winger lashed home a shot to cut into the lead.

That would round out the scoring, as Leiva shined on both sides of the half to maintain the lead. A win against Canada on Thursday is now required for the USA to reach the semifinals.

U.S. Lineup: Emmanuel Arias; Finn McCraney, Christian Guillen-Lopez, Luca Antongirolami, Justus Jones; Nathan Tchoumba, Niccolo Vafiades, Vinny Garcia; Ikenna Chidebe, Kane Kraus, Liam Stribling

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