The Paris Olympics\u00a0wrapped up over the weekend, with the USWNT reclaiming their place atop the major tournament mountain after\u00a0earning their\u00a0fifth gold medal<\/a> on Saturday. USWNT forward Mallory Swanson scored the game’s lone goal in the 57th minute to lead the team to their eventual\u00a01-0 win over Brazil.\u00a0<\/p>\n The US never trailed at the\u00a02024 Olympics<\/a> and became the first women’s team in tournament history to record shutouts through all three knockout rounds.<\/p>\n Brazil looked the better\u00a0of the two\u00a0teams\u00a0in the first half, bypassing the USWNT’s midfield to pressure their backline with probing, vertical play. Recent Chicago Red Stars signing\u00a0Ludmila<\/a>\u00a0spurred chaos among the USWNT defense, striking what would have been the game’s opening goal if she hadn’t been ruled offside.<\/p>\n The US held fast to a 0-0 scoreline at the half,\u00a0then worked their way back into the match. A well-weighted pass from Korbin Albert ultimately split Brazil’s defense and\u00a0slotted Swanson<\/a>\u00a0in on goal.<\/p>\n\n The victory represents a monumental bounce-back after a disappointing\u00a02023 World Cup<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 not to mention an early indication of new manager Emma Hayes’s future with the team.<\/p>\n To date, the USWNT has consistently walked away either one \u2014 but never both \u2014 of the international women’s soccer cycle’s\u00a0two major titles<\/a>, keeping alive their streak of capturing Olympic gold the year after losing a World Cup.<\/p>\n As for Hayes, the new boss is 9-0-1 in her first 10 games with the USWNT, making an immediate impact in the team’s ability to get the job done on the biggest of world stages.<\/p>\n The USWNT’s\u00a0“Triple Espresso”<\/a>\u00a0frontline trio \u2014 Swanson, Sophia Smith, and Trinity Rodman \u2014 contributed at least three goals each to the USA’s 12-goal Olympic tally, including a game-winner apiece in the knockout stages.<\/p>\n France’s Marie-Antoinette Katoto\u00a0finished as the tournament’s leading scorer with five goals overall, followed by Swanson’s four.<\/p>\n “I think most importantly,\u00a0you\u2019re probably hearing it, we\u2019re playing with joy,” Swanson\u00a0told reporters<\/a>\u00a0after the match. “We\u2019re having so much fun. I\u2019m just so happy.”<\/p>\nSecond-half adjustments secured USWNT win<\/h2>\n
USA’s World Cup rebound streak kept alive<\/h2>\n
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Joy caffeinates USWNT’s frontline<\/h2>\n