![]() ![]() ( PHOTOS: Pigments of Imagination: Colors of the Olympics) A level score at the half would not have been unfair. defenders - one-on-one defending had been a weakness throughout the tournament - and passed back to Aya Miyama, whose drive smashed off the crossbar and out. In the 33rd minute, Shinobu Ohno dribbled past three U.S. ![]() Japan could blame no one else when defender Azusa Iwashimizu nearly scored an own goal, heading an angled cross onto her own post. was awarded a penalty on a similar play in the semifinals. But referee Bibiana Steinhaus waved it off, which probably had the Canadian team - which won the battle for bronze over France - stammering, since the U.S. In the game’s only controversial incident, Japan had a decent claim for a penalty when Heath stopped a free kick with her arm in the 26th minute. “Obviously Carli with two goals, but you can’t go without saying that Hope saved the day, literally, five times.” “Both had fantastic games today,” says Wambach of Lloyd and Solo. ![]() And more perfectly saved, Solo jumped up and to her left to tip the ball onto the bar. Her beautiful cross from the left to center forward Yuki Ogimi’s head was perfectly met. Nahomi Kawasumi, who was a constant threat in the first half, set up yet another great chance for Japan. Either could have been a game saver, but this was just the beginning. Solo was called on to make two point-blank saves in the middle of some frantic defending in the 17th minute. held Japan comfortably for the next 10 minutes, but the Japanese gradually began to create more chances as they controlled the game. ( MORE: The Most Exciting Team in American Sports: Women’s Soccer) She is a big-time player,” says Solo of her teammate at the other end of the field. She stepped up when she needed to step up. Bending to head the ball, she barely beat Wambach’s foot to it. Morgan collected the pass with her back to goal, turned onto her left foot and chipped the ball across to the onrushing Lloyd at the 6-yard box. Here’s how: in the seventh minute, Tobin Heath, whom Sundhage calls her most gifted technical player, steamed down the left wing and hit a perfect pass to Morgan, who was making a run to the near post. “This is not the way we wanted to play, but this is the way we were forced to play,” says Sundhage. Japan quickly established its possession game. The Americans kicked off and went directly for goal. The opening whistle of a final has a tendency to make coaches’ plans immediately irrelevant. She also had midfielder Shannon Boxx back in the starting lineup to provide defensive cover in front of the central defenders, allowing Lloyd to press higher up the pitch. She promised to change the strategy and emphasized getting more possession along with going to goal. ![]() coach Pia Sundhage wanted to throw a little bit of a curve at her opponent. Japan plays cat and mouse, possessing the ball as much as possible and probing for opportunities, utilizing its fast wings and clever reverse passes. The Americans go for goal, relying on their pace and fitness, the tricky wing play of Rapinoe and the sweet feet of Alex Morgan and Wambach’s finishing power. Japan coach Norio Sasaki made no secret of his desire to keep the U.S. ( MORE: Gracious Losers: Japan’s Women Celebrate Silver in a Soccer Rematch with the U.S.) This is not quite redemption for what happened in the World Cup to Japan, but it’s a great feeling.” “Man, I can’t put this into words,” says midfielder Megan Rapinoe. The win avenges the Americans’ loss in last year’s World Cup final to the same Japanese team. The game, played in Wembley Stadium before a crowd of 80,203, broke the attendance record set in Atlanta in 1996 - a game that NBC didn’t even deem worthy of airing. Lloyd scored in the eighth and 54th minute, and Solo preserved the win with sensational saves in both halves to clinch a fourth gold medal for the U.S. women’s soccer team’s gold-medal match against Japan, “and this match is going to be nothing short of that.”Īs she usually does for the U.S., Wambach once again delivered on a promise, but it was her teammates Hope Solo and Carli Lloyd who made the game great for the U.S. Follow deserve a great final,” Abby Wambach said before the U.S. ![]()
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