Not many teams rebound from three-goal deficits to win in international soccer competition. The U.S. men's national team became one of them on Sunday.

The United States, behind 3-0 nearly 30 minutes into the game against Saudi Arabia, chipped away with goals by defender Alexi Lalas, midfielder Tab Ramos, and forwards Joe-Max Moore and Roy Lassiter to earn an improbable, 4-3 victory at RFK Stadium.This was the first time the U.S. won against international competition after trailing by three goals, according to the U.S. Soccer Federation.

"At the international level, to come back from a 3-0 deficit, I don't think I've seen it before," Ramos said. "What was happening on the field in the first 10-15 minutes was an embarrassment for us."

Ramos, who had one goal and two assists, and Lassiter, who had a goal and an assist, led the U.S. as it tied Saudi Arabia in their series, 2-2-1. The United States also raised its record to 2-1-1 in international play at RFK Stadium since 1991.

But before celebrating began for the team dubbed "Sam's Army" by U.S. supporters among the crowd of 10,216, Saudi Arabia had built a 3-0 lead on goals by forwards Sami Al-Jaber, Fahad Mehalel and Saeed Owairan. Al-Jaber scored on a 6-yard blast past goalie Brad Friedel 7:46 into the game; Mehalel on a 12-yard shot at the 10:58 mark, and Owairan on a 15-yard direct penalty kick that sailed over Friedel's arms.

"We played like crap in the first half to let those three goals in," said Lalas, who was beaten on the first two scores.

It was Lalas, however, who sparked the U.S.'s turn in fortune. Positioned perfectly in front of Saudi Arabia goalie Tisir Al-Antaif, he met Ramos' indirect free kick and headed it in for a 3-1 score at 35:38 of the half.

The U.S. outshot Saudi Arabia, 10-4, in the first half. A greater percentage of the U.S.'s shots resulted in scores in the final 45 minutes.

First, midfielder Claudio Reyna curved a shot perfectly from the far right corner to a sliding Moore in front of the goal. Moore met it and angled the ball away from Al-Antaif for a 3-2 score three minutes into the second half.

Lassiter, who entered the game about midway through the first half, assisted on the next goal. With his back to Al-Antaif, he passed to Ramos near the top of the penalty area, and Ramos blasted the ball into the net at the 62:05 mark.

All of sudden, the score was tied after it had seemed Saudi Arabia was headed for an easy win.

"We were taking things a little bit for granted," Ramos said. "We found out at this level you can lose to anybody bad.

So once we got going and we did what we were supposed to do, there was no doubt we were the better team."

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Lassiter's goal four minutes after Ramos' score was the deciding factor. Ramos hooked a pass from the right of the goal to Lassiter, who headed it in. Moments later, U.S. goalie Juergen Sommer, who replaced Friedel for the second half, dived to save a goal, one of the components that preserved the win.

"It was an excellent pass," Lassiter said of Ramos' assist. "I didn't want to rush in real fast, I wanted to time my run and get in there on time and to head the ball. The goalie had already committed ... and I couldn't miss."

Afterward, U.S. coach Steve Sampson attributed his team's comeback partly to halftime changes on defense with midfielders Reyna and Mike Burns, and defender Paul Caligiuri. Sampson, 5-6-2 in international play, said he wanted those players to "congest the middle of midfield" and force play wide.

"There were legitimate reasons Saudi Arabia's goals came," Sampson said. "Paul (Caligiuri) wasn't playing sweeper like he should have. These problems happen when you have guys who play overseas and then come home to play different positions."

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