US ousted, Sweden wins 4-3 on penalties after 1-1 draw

The loss marks the first time that the women’s team has exited a major worldwide competition before the semifinals.

Solo lets one through in Friday’s penalty shootout.

Solo didn’t think it was very sporting or fair for the Swedes to spend much of the game with as many as nine players in front of their own net, less interested in scoring a goal than in preventing one.

Sweden now move through to the semi-finals, as the U.S. women’s national team failed in their bid to win their fourth successive Olympic gold. “To call them cowards for playing a tactically smart game is ridiculous and classless, and it really doesn’t represent the house that we built with the USA team”.

The goalkeeper criticized the Swedish team’s “game plan” and style of play, saying, “They didn’t want open play”.

“They tried to counter with long balls”.

Then, Thursday, the team lost to Sweden, and Solo responded by calling them cowards.

“And I also think we played a bunch of cowards”. We had many opportunities on goal.

It was the first Olympic women’s match ever to go to penalties.

Which is something that Solo should be used to. In 2014, Solo reportedly threatened police officers who arrested her after an alleged domestic violence incident in which she fought a nephew. The charges eventually were dismissed. “Nope Solo.” We get it!

“We are very surprised they are out of the competition. It doesn’t matter what somebody did in an Olympic gold-medal game in the Olympics three years ago”. In the shootout, the U.S. had two shooters miss. A penalty shootout followed, in which Lisa Dahlkvist converted to seal a 4-3 Sweden win. Solo made a great diving save on Linda Sembrant’s shot, but then Christen Press knocked the fifth US kick over the crossbar.

Solo blamed the loss on Sweden’s tactics. I’m very proud of the team. “You saw us give everything we had today”.

Dahlkvist then stepped up, but Solo called a timeout, hoping to spook the Swede. Portland Thorns midfielder Lindsey Horan scored when it was her turn against Sweden’s goalie.

That set up a wild overtime, when two different goals were disallowed.

Thiesen-Eaton, a favorite to challenge for the gold medal, posted a time of 13.18 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles (1,097 points), cleared 6 feet 11⁄4 inches in the high jump (1,054), threw 44 feet in the shot put (757) and was timed in 24.18 seconds in the 200 meters (963). Nearly immediately thereafter, Sweden’s Lotta Schelin beat Solo, only to have the ref wave off her goal on a dubious offside call.

Lloyd almost put the United States ahead in the 85th but her kick to the far corner went just wide.

Perhaps rattled by the Rio fans consistently heckling her with “Zika” chants , Solo was visibly shaken throughout the games. “Such is life, and such is sport”.