Women’s Soccer

At the 2011 World Cup Final, the last time the United States’ women’s soccer team played Japan, the American team watched two leads slip away late in the game and then saw the Japanese win the game in penalty kicks. This time, the U.S. held the lead and won the gold without drama and defeated Japan 2-1 before more than 80,000 fans. Carli Lloyd, who regained her starting position during the 2012 Olympics after Shannon Boxx injured her hamstring in the first game, scored eight minutes into the first half and nine minutes into the second half to take a 2-0 lead over the Japanese. The two goals gave Lloyd a total of four for the tournament and offered some reassurance to her fans that her lost starting spot would not hamper her playing ability. The Japanese would not go down without a fight and when Yuki Ogimi scored in the sixty-third minute of the game, American fans were reminded of the stunning Japanese comeback barely a year ago. However, the Japanese did not come to fruition thanks to a diving stop by American goalkeeper Hope Solo, who prevented an equalizer by Asuna Tanaka in the eighty-third minute of the game. While this journey to gold was never easy, the U.S. battled through controversy, comebacks, and history to earn their fourth gold medal in five Olympics.

Women’s Water Polo

With multiple world championships and a world cup, it’s unsurprising that the U.S. women’s water polo team is regarded as one of the best water polo teams in the world. The only title the team lacked was an Olympic gold medal. Now the long wait is over following a U.S. victory over Spain 8-5 in the gold medal match today. Despite falling behind early, the U.S. quickly battled back and scored a barrage of goals against Spain, five by rookie Maggie Stephens. Stephens’ ended the Olympics with 21 goals in six games and set an Olympic record of seven goals in the U.S. matchup against Hungary in the preliminary games of the tournament. After Spain jumped ahead 2-1 with Jennifer Pareja‘s second goal of the night, the U.S. scored seven straight goals including four before halftime to completely change the flow of the game. A particularly memorable stop of a penalty shot by Betsey Armstrong early in the fourth quarter followed by the fifth goal by Stephens just seconds later gave the Americans a commanding six goal lead. Despite a determined late effort by Spain, the U.S. was able to celebrate their first gold medal in women’s water polo as the remaining players and coaches celebrated by jumping into the pool. #