Athens, Greece ? The crowd booed Andre Ward when he walked into the arena, and cheered when he slipped on the canvas. Through the din, he heard a small group of friends and family chant “USA, USA” before even more boos drowned that out.

It was lonely enough being the last American boxer left in the Olympics. Now Ward had to find a way to deal with a hostile crowd in the stands and a tough Uzbekistan in the ring.

He managed to do it, but just barely, scoring two punches in the final seconds Friday night to eke out a 17-15 win and become the only U.S. fighter to advance to a gold-medal bout.

“You never want someone to boo you, but it’s here and it’s happening and you have to adjust,” Ward said. “We’re in another country, so they’re obviously not showing the American flag much respect.”

Fighting just hours after teammate Andre Dirrell lost his semifinal bout, Ward and Utkirbek Haydarov engaged in an ugly fight filled with holding and inside punching that was in doubt until the final bell.

After it sounded and Ward’s hand was raised in victory, the crowd jamming the Peristeri arena booed him even more.

On a day when the powerful Cubans advanced seven fighters to the finals and British teenage sensation Amir Khan came up big again, Ward took a step toward salvaging American hopes in an Olympic sport the United States once dominated.

“I really believe deep down inside I’m going to get this gold medal, and that’s not being boastful,” Ward said.

Men’s Water Polo

Tony Azevedo scored three goals and the United States advanced to a playoff for seventh place with a 6-5 win over Australia. The Americans led 3-0 in the first half and 5-2 in the third period. Pietro Figlioli scored three. The U.S. team will face Italy, which defeated Croatia thanks to three goals from center Fabio Bencivenga.

Men’s Volleyball

Brazil showed why it’s ranked first in the world of men’s volleyball with a dominant three-set semifinal win over the U.S. Brazil will play second-ranked Italy in Sunday’s final at Peace and Friendship Stadium, and the United States takes on Russia for the bronze medal.

The Americans will play for their first medal since 1992, when they won a bronze in Barcelona.

Diving

Caesar Garcia and Kyle Prandi failed to advance out of the 10-meter platform preliminaries, meaning that American divers would have their first Olympic shutout in 92 years.

Taekwondo

American Nia Abdallah won the silver medal in taekwondo, advancing all the way to the final before losing 2-1 to Jang Ji-won of South Korea in the under 57-kilogram class. Iridia Salazar Blanco of Mexico won the bronze.

Abdallah, from Houston, was the first American woman to win an Olympic match in taekwondo, added as an official sport in Sydney in 2000.

Wrestling

Kerry McCoy was tossed by Marid Mutalimov of Kazakhstan 11 seconds into overtime, a 3-point move that sent Mutalimov into the medal round at 2641/2 pounds (120kg) and a somber McCoy home to Bethlehem, Pa. He announced his retirement immediately afterward. McCoy’s was the only American loss in 11 matches.

Cael Sanderson, the most successful college wrestler ever while going 159-0 at Iowa State, won three times at 185 pounds (84kg) and will meet Cuba’s Yoel Romero in the semifinals today.