Salon.com > Joseph White

US tops Japan to take Olympic women’s soccer gold

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 23:16:26 +0000

WEMBLEY, England (AP) — Abby Wambach didn't put on her "Greatness Has Been Found" T-shirt right away. She instead strayed from her teammates and knelt alone at midfield — and cried into a U.S. flag.

Yes, greatness has been found. And payback has been achieved.

The Americans are again on top of the women's soccer world.

They won their third straight Olympic gold medal Thursday, beating Japan 2-1 in a rematch of last year's World Cup final and avenging the most painful loss in their history.

"They snatched our dream last summer," U.S. midfielder Megan Rapinoe said. "And this kind of feels like the nightmare turned back around."

Carli Lloyd scored early in both halves, Hope Solo made a spectacular late save as the Japanese pushed frantically for a tying goal, and the entire roster found the redemption it had been seeking since that penalty kick shootout loss in Germany last year.

"I just kept pounding my chest, going, 'Guys, this is only about heart. We're all tired, every player on the field. Twenty-two players on the field are tired,'" Wambach said. "It's about who wants it more, right here, right now. And today we proved that we did."

Redemption rematch: US soccer takes on Japan

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 04:12:04 +0000

LONDON (AP) — A day before the Olympic gold medal game, players and coaches from the U.S. and Japanese women's soccer teams stood in front of reporters side-by-side, like buddies on the same squad, arms linked around each other's waists. The white warmup jackets of the United States alternated with the blue ones from Japan.

All that cordiality? It ends at kickoff.

"They snatched our dream last year," U.S. midfielder Megan Rapinoe said. "And still we have that respect for them."

No matter the result Thursday, the Olympic women's soccer tournament couldn't ask for a better finale. The teams from last year's World Cup final meet again at Wembley Stadium, with organizers expecting the largest crowd ever to watch women play the sport at a Summer Games.

For the players, of course, the result does matter. The Japanese are attempting become the first team to win World Cup and Olympic titles in back-to-back years. The Americans are bent on mending the heartache from a penalty kick shootout in Frankfurt 13 months ago.

"I've been hoping for this final," U.S. forward Abby Wambach said, "from the moment I stepped off the podium in Germany."

Morgan may be next face of US women’s soccer

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 04:28:14 +0000

LONDON (AP) — First-time Olympian Alex Morgan already has her defining moment: A game-winning goal in overtime that put the U.S. women's soccer team into the gold medal match.

And of all things, it came on a header, the very skill that was supposed to be a weakness in her game.

If she keeps this up, she really will outgrow her nickname.

"We came up with the name 'Baby Horse' a while back when she first came on the team," U.S. midfielder Megan Rapinoe said Tuesday. "Just so much talent. Obviously very raw, she was kind of wild.

"And now she's a beautiful stallion, I think."

That sounds about right. The lightning-fast striker brings beautiful goals to game at the formative age of 23. Long after Abby Wambach, Christie Rampone and the other vets have retired, it's a reasonable bet that Morgan will be the face of the U.S. national team.

"She's still a genetic freak, in my opinion," Wambach said. "She makes plays that you don't expect anybody to make."

When Morgan looped Heather O'Reilly's cross into the net in the game's 123rd minute, she set up one of the most tantalizing rematches of these Olympics: United States vs. Japan for the gold medal.

US women top Canada, Japan next for Olympic gold

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 21:19:12 +0000

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — On the verge of missing the gold-medal game for the first time, the U.S. women's soccer team caught a break when the referee made a call rarely seen in the sport.

Then the Americans put together a final winning surge, inspired by the familiar — a pep talk from co-captain Abby Wambach.

"I know I've said this before," she said she told her teammates during extra time. "But it really does just take one moment and one chance, one moment of brilliance for somebody to do something individually spectacular."

The moment came beyond the 90 minutes of regular time, beyond the scheduled 30 minutes of extra time. In the third and final minute of injury time, with goalkeeper Hope Solo already preparing for a penalty kick shootout, Alex Morgan looped in a 6-yard header on a long cross from Heather O'Reilly, giving the U.S. a 4-3 win over Canada in the Olympic semifinals at Old Trafford.

"I don't have much to say because I need to wrap my head around what just happened," Solo said. "And that's the truth of the matter. We tend to keep things interesting."

US women top NKorea 1-0, win Olympic soccer group

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 18:11:23 +0000

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — In an iconic venue against a mysterious opponent, the U.S. women's Olympic soccer team did the familiar: Abby Wambach scored the decisive goal in a victory, and the players found a funky way to celebrate.

Wambach netted for the 141st time in international play, and the Americans finished atop their group Tuesday with a 1-0 win over North Korea in the first women's soccer game at Old Trafford in 23 years.

Chants of "U-S-A!" among the crowd of 29,522 echoed in the home of Manchester United as the Americans completed a 3-0 run in Olympic group play. They were already assured a berth in the next round entering the game, and they'll now move on to Newcastle for a quarterfinal match on Friday.

North Korea finished with a 1-2 record in the group and still had a chance to advance, depending on the results of Tuesday's other games. The team completed the game with 10 players after Choe Mi Gyong was sent off with a second yellow card in the 81st minute following a tackle on Lauren Cheney.

Olympic goalie Solo doesn’t back down from tweets

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 17:39:32 +0000

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — U.S. women's soccer goalkeeper Hope Solo didn't back down Monday from her Twitter outburst against NBC analyst Brandi Chastain, saying the tweets were her way of expressing her opinion about the quality of television announcers.

Solo addressed the matter briefly on her 31st birthday during the team's tour of historic Old Trafford stadium, where the Americans will play North Korea on Tuesday. She didn't apologize or express regret, and she answered only one question about the matter, declining to address, among other things, whether a social media rant in the middle of the Olympics was the proper time and means to convey her feelings about broadcasters.

"It's not about what made me unhappy," Solo said. "It's not about one game. I have my beliefs that the best commentators and the best analysts should be analyzing come Olympics, come World Cups, and it's only my opinion. You can take it or leave it, to be honest, so it's my opinion, and I think analysts and commentators should bring energy and excitement and passion for the game, and a lot of knowledge, and I think it's important to help build the game, and I don't think Brandi has that.

Scripps spelling bee’s final word: “Cymotrichous”

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 11:40:00 +0000

It went on and on and on. Five spellers who seemingly had memorized the entire dictionary simply could not be stumped with any word tossed their way. It was getting late, way past bedtime and well beyond the time slot allotted by ESPN for its telecast.

Finally, after 21 consecutive spellings without a miss, one of them finally flubbed a word. Eventually, the others were gone -- having heard the telltale bell of elimination -- except for 14-year-old eighth grader Sukanya Roy of South Abington Township, Pa., who took home the trophy and the more than $40,000 in cash and prizes Thursday at the 84th Scripps National Spelling Bee.

"I went through the dictionary once or twice," said Sukanya, who tied for 12th in 2009 and 20th in 2010, "and I guess some of the words really stuck."

Sukanya's winning word was "cymotrichous," which relates to wavy hair. She likes hiking, rock climbing and ice skating, wants to travel and perhaps pursue a career in international relations. She is the fourth consecutive Indian-American to win the bee and the ninth in the last 13 years, a run that began when Nupur Lala captured the crown in 1999 and was later featured in the documentary "Spellbound."

Stephen Strasburg: Tommy John surgery likely

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 18:07:00 +0000

Stephen Strasburg has a torn elbow ligament and will likely have Tommy John surgery, bringing the pitcher's promising rookie season to an abrupt end.

Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said Friday an MRI on the right elbow revealed a "significant tear." Strasburg will travel to the West Coast for a second opinion, but Rizzo anticipates the 22-year-old right-hander will need the operation that requires 12 to 18 months of rehabilitation.

"As you can imagine, he was initially upset," Rizzo said. "But he has really turned himself from being upset to being focused on his rehabilitation. He's determined to get the surgery done and begin the process of rehabilitation."

Strasburg was pulled from Saturday's game at Philadelphia when he grimaced while grabbing and shaking his wrist after throwing a changeup to Dominic Brown. The Nationals initially called the injury a strained flexor tendon in the forearm, but an MRI taken Sunday raised enough questions for the Nationals to order a more extensive MRI in which dye is injected into the arm.