The U.S mixed doubles curling team of Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin lost their two matches on Saturday, first falling to Great Britain's Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat, 6-4, then taking a narrow defeat versus Kim Seonyeong and Jeong Yeongseok of South Korea in an extra end, 6-5.

Thiesse and Dropkin entered Saturday with a 4-0 record, but Dodds and Mouat were even better at 5-0 following their 7-5 morning win over Canada. However, the loss to South Korea was truly an upset as their team fell in its previous five matches.

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In the first match, the Americans fell behind 2-0 after the first end and Great Britain added two more to take a 4-1 lead halfway through the match. The fifth end saw Thiesse and Dropkin claw back, tying the match with a score of three.

Mouat and Dodds retook the lead in the sixth end and didn't look back as the three-time World Mixed Doubles champions held on to improve to 7-0 and secure a spot in Monday's semifinals.

Great Britain, who beat Canada 7-5 in earlier action on Saturday, is now 7-0. At 4-1, the U.S. squad sit second in the standings. The top four teams advance to the semifinals.

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South Korea came into its match with the U.S. having lost 9-4 to Czechia earlier in the day. Kim and Jeong had lost three of its previous five contests by five points or more. But they put Thiesse and Dropkin on their heels by taking a 2-0 lead through the first two ends.

South Korea held a 5-2 lead going into the eight end, but the U.S. rallied with three points force an extra end. Yet Thiesse and Dropkin struggled with their accuracy in the extra end and lost 1-0.

The U.S. will next face Estonia and Sweden in Round Robin sessions 11 and 12 on Sunday.

Both countries are seeking their first mixed doubles medal in the third Olympics since the event was added to the program.

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