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The United States Women's National Soccer Team, heavily favored to capture gold in the past Olympics, had to battle fiercely to top Australia, 4-3, in the bronze medal consolation game.
The American women jumped out to a healthy 3-0 lead at halftime and were up 4-1 at one point in the second half but had to hold on at the end.
Carli Lloyd, 39 and in her fourth appearance in the Olympics, became the first woman in U.S. Women's National Team history to score in four games. She is the all-time leading scorer for the U.S. women. Shortly after the final game, Lloyd announced her retirement from the team.
Thus far, the American women have captured four gold, one silver and one bronze since women's soccer began in the Olympics. The Tokyo Games opened badly for the top-ranked Americans when they were shut out by Sweden, 3-0. They bounced back to trounce New Zealand, 6-1, and after playing Australia to a 0-0 tie, won the shootout. They also won in a shootout over the Netherlands after a 2-2 regulation time draw.
The end came in the semifinals, when the U.S., after dominating play against Canada, gave away a decisive penalty kick with 15 minutes to go, and lost its quest for the gold medal with a 1-0 loss to the Canadians.
This was not the same U.S. team that captured the last World Cup. The U.S. failed to score a goal in three of its six games and had numerous goals called back on offsides calls. The team never did play in sync throughout the course of the games. There will no doubt be a number of roster changes, due to retirements and necessary changes in certain positions.
Energy team shines
The local u-13 Classic Division 1 Energy girls squad out of FC814 Soccer Club (Altoona-Hollidaysburg) had a tremendous showing in the National Presidents Cup Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa, as it worked its way to the national championship game, dropping a tough 2-0 decision to the Blue Valley Whales out of Kansas.
The girls have played together since they were 9 years old, and all players came from this region. Twelve of the players were from the Altoona area, which should add some strong talent to future Altoona and Bishop Guilfoyle squads. The remaining players were from Ebensburg, Glendale and DuBois. The girls received local sponsorships and support to help defray the cost of the national championship tourney.
No other team from the Central Pa. Region has advanced that far in competitive play.
Summer Showdown
The Northern Blair Recreation Center had great success with its first annual Summer Showdown 3v3 Soccer Tournament, sponsored by DelGrosso's Amusement Park.
Each participant received a free all-day fun pass to DelGrosso Park/Laguna Splash. The NBRC director of youth soccer, Alex Bartlett, reported they had 26 teams entered for the initial tournament.
The Junior High Boys Division was won by Altoona Junior High, while the JH Girls was won by Team Powerhouse. The Varsity Boys was won by AAHS, the Varsity Girls by Hawk Landscaping, the u-11 Coed Division by FC814 and the u-13 Coed Division was captured by the Bedford Juggernauts.
Tom Schmitt writes a monthly soccer column for the Mirror.