BERKELEY – California men's soccer alumnus Steve Birnbaum and the U.S. men's national team took fourth place in the recent Copa America Centenario, as the United States lost to Colombia, 1-0, in Saturday's third-place match in Glendale, Arizona.
 
Birnbaum – the first Golden Bear to play in the prestigious tournament – did not play in Arizona. He last played in the final 30 minutes of the USA's 4-0 loss to Argentina in the June 21 semifinals in Houston, coming off the bench to replace starter Kyle Beckerman.
 
The D.C. United center back, who starred at Cal from 2009-13, made one other appearance in the tournament. He played briefly as a substitute in stoppage time of the 2-1 quarterfinal win over Ecuador on June 16 in Seattle.
 
This season, Birnbaum has started 11 out of 11 games for his MLS club. The steady third-year pro has started in 53 out of 54 total games for United.
 
Fourth place matched the USA's best finish in the Copa America, the tournament that determines a champion from among national teams from CONMEBOL (the South American confederation) and CONCACAF (the confederation of North American, Central American and Caribbean nations). The U.S. – which this year finished behind champion Chile, runner-up Argentina and Colombia – also took fourth place in the tournament in 1995.