The defending Olympic champion U.S. men's curling team beat Switzerland 7-4 and moved within reach of a playoff berth.
But the Minnesota-led curling side suffered a setback Tuesday, losing 10-4 to Italy, which had only won one match in pool play. Team Shuster trailed 6-4 before an errant throw by skip John Shuster in the eighth end, giving Italy a four-point steal and causing the United States to concede.
China helped Team USA's chances by defeating Norway 8-6 in a match that ended several minutes after the United States defeat.
The United States is current in fourth place at 4-4. ROC and Switzerland are 3-4, and both have lost to the USA. China and Norway are 3-5. The top four teams qualify for the elimination round.
The final round-robin match against Denmark (1-6) is on Wednesday.
The Swiss led 4-2 after six ends before the Americans (4-3) rolled off three scoring ends in a row. They picked up two points in the seventh with the last-rock advantage known as the hammer, then stole a point in the eighth and ninth when Switzerland held the edge.
Defending silver medalist Sweden (7-0) remained unbeaten with an 8-3 win over Denmark in the morning session. Britain (6-1) is in second, and Canada (5-2) beat China 10-8 to hold onto third place.
