Team USA sought its first victory at the World University Games, and -- thanks to two Icers -- it almost captured that elusive "W."

Penn State forwards Luke DeLorenzo, a sophomore, and Mike McMullen, a senior, tallied a goal and an assist each as Team USA dropped a hard-fought, 5-2, contest to powerhouse Russia, the 2003 and 2005 gold medalist, Monday at Tazzoli Rink in Torino, Italy.

After losing to Canada, 5-0, and Slovakia, 3-2, last week, Team USA (0-3) is still winless through three of its four preliminary round games, while Russia (3-0) remains unscathed as one of four currently undefeated teams.

"I was very proud of the way
our guys played tonight," USA
head coach Chad Cassel said in an
e-mail. "We outworked them and
controlled the game physically."

Cassel, who is head coach of No. 1 Illinois in the ACHA, said that there was "zero margin for error against Russia" and that his team would need to stay out of the penalty box if it wanted to pull off the upset.

However, Team USA went against that blueprint and took two penalties less than one minute apart early into the first period. Russia capitalized on both man advantages by scoring two goals in 58 seconds for a 2-0 lead in the game's first five minutes.

Despite the inauspicious start, Team USA withstood Russia's surge and got on the scoreboard when DeLorenzo took a pass from McMullen and scored at the 13:26 mark of the first period.

DeLorenzo would return the favor in the final minute of the second period when he, along with Arizona State's Anthony Bonacurso, assisted on McMullen's goal and, more importantly, tied the game at 2 with one period remaining.

Team USA was in now position to knock off Russia for the second time in the last two meetings.

In 2001 (the year the United States returned to using ACHA players at the World University Games), the Americans recorded what many consider to be one of the biggest upsets in international competition with a 4-2 win. That was the last time Russia lost at the World University Games.

This time, Russia avoided its second-straight defeat to Team USA by netting three unanswered goals in the game's final eight minutes.

"We had some great looks after we tied the game, but we couldn't convert on those chances," Cassel said via e-mail.

Said Penn State sophomore forward Frank Berry in an e-mail message: "We went into the game know we could play with Russia and we did just that. Our team played well for the first 50 minutes of the game before giving up a couple late goals."

Team USA will look for its first win of the tournament when it closes out the opening round against Korea (0-3) at 8:30 (EST) Wednesday morning.