The waning stages of Team USA's 1-1 (4-3) loss against Sweden in the quarterfinals of the Rio Olympics provided more drama than a soap opera, with the red, white and blue experiencing what appeared to be both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat minutes apart from each other.
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It seemed as if forward FIFA World Cup stand out USA forward Carli Lloyd had come through once again for her squad when she crept behind the Swedish defense and headed in a goal that would've been the game winner. However, the score was nullified when she was whistle for offsides, on a call that could've gone either way.
Sweden would experience the same disappointment moments later when it was flagged for offsides after coming with a goal that would've decided the game earlier.
After misses by Alex Morgan and Christen Press during penalty kicks, USA goalkeeper Hope Solo tried to pull off what would've been an epic piece of gamesmanship had she been able to come up with her second save of the PK session when he she called time to switch gloves before the kick that sealed the victory for Sweden, but the stunt didn't pay off as Lisa Dahlkvist put one past her to knock Team USA out of contention for a gold medal.
Hope Solo, great goalkeeper, but no stranger to controversy. Savvy or unsportsmanlike? #goalkeepers #USAvSWE pic.twitter.com/jSHbADDFzL
— Christian Benjamin (@Keeperstop) August 12, 2016