Carli Lloyd

LONDON — When the clock finally ran out after the U.S. women's soccer team's gold-medal win over Japan on Thursday, a group of players ran from the sideline to goalkeeper Hope Solo while another dashed toward the other end of the field to dog-pile atop Carli Lloyd. How appropriate. Because in a game that was so much about retribution and redemption, few players felt as if they had more to prove than Solo and Lloyd. In the Olympic semifinals, Solo had given up three goals to Canada's Christine Sinclair, the most the U.S. has allowed in a game Solo has played in in more than four years.

LONDON -- Carli Lloyd scored twice -- once in each half -- to give the U.S. a 2-0 lead over Japan early in the second half of the gold-medal game of the Olympic women's soccer tournament at Wembley Stadium on Thursday. Her first goal, in the eighth minute, came on a diving header after Alex Morgan, trapped along the end line, flipped a left-footed pass into the six-yard box for Abby Wambach. But Lloyd ducked in front of Wambach, got her head on the ball and drove it into the net. Then, nine minutes into the second half, Lloyd gathered the ball at midfield, dribbled more than 30 yards down the center of the pitch, stopped and drove a left-footed shot into the back of the net from just inside the penalty area.

With the exception of last summer's World Cup matches with Brazil and Japan, the U.S. women's soccer team generally faces few challenges on the field. So Coach Pia Sundhage has tried to foster some of that off the pitch by rotating players through her starting lineup. "It's a good team and there is competition," she said Friday while preparing for the U.S.'s second Olympic match, Saturday against Colombia at historic Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland (NBC Sports Network, 9 a.m. PDT)

LONDON -- On a rollicking night when England's sporting cathedral swelled with their relentlessness, the USA women's soccer team didn't simply gain revenge. They clutched it. They wore it. They owned it. One goal bounced from Carli Lloyd's head as she flew, and another soared off her orange-booted right foot as she sprinted. Countless stops soaked through Abby Wambach's headband as she muscled through every minute. All but one attack died at the end of the long green sleeves of Hope Solo, her leaping saves occasionally knocking the ball halfway to France.

You never forget the first time, Sydney Leroux says. In her case it came when she was just 13, after a bet with her mother over how many goals she would score in a national soccer tournament. For Shannon Boxx it happened in college - and it, too, came on a dare after she led Notre Dame to an NCAA soccer championship. Yet for both women their first and subsequent tattoos have become indelible markers of accomplishment on a road each hopes will lead to a gold medal in the London Olympics this summer.

CHICAGO -- Forward Abby Wambach and midfielder Carli Lloyd each scored twice as the U.S. women routed New Zealand, 6-1, Sunday at Soldier Field in their next-to-last tuneup before next month's women's World Cup in China. Wambach scored the game's first and final goals and moved into fifth place among U.S. women with 77 career goals. The Americans, now 5-0 in a six-game pre-World Cup tour, peppered New Zealand goalie Jenny Bindon with 10 first-half shots while opening a 3-0 lead.

LONDON -- Carli Lloyd's diving header in the eighth minute gave the U.S. a 1-0 lead over Japan at halftime of the gold medal game of the women's Olympic soccer tournament Thursday at Wembley Stadium. The goal came after Alex Morgan, trapped on the goal line, flipped a left-footed pass into the six-yard box for Abby Wambach. But Lloyd ducked in front of it, got her head on it, and drove it into the net. Eight minutes later, captain Christie Rampone and keeper Hope Solo saved the U.S. twice in quick succession.

LONDON -- Abby Wambach's goal in the 25th minute gave the U.S. women's team a 1-0 lead over North Korea at halftime of the final match of Olympic soccer pool play Tuesday at Old Trafford in Manchester. The Americans, who rolled past France and Colombia in their first two matches, have already clinched a spot in the tournament quarterfinals, but with a win or tie here, they would advance as the group champion. North Korea needs a least a tie to avoid elimination. Wambach's goal came after a long through ball found Alex Morgan deep in the 18-yard box. Two Korean defenders immediately sandwiched Morgan, who had her back to the goal.

Maybe the American women had no choice but to look ahead. Their determined run through the Women's World Cup — three weeks' worth of gritty performances and heart-pounding finishes — had ended a few minutes, a few penalty kicks, short of victory. No sooner had they lost to an inspired Japanese team at Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt, Germany, the U.S. players began thinking about chances to redeem themselves. They talked about defending the gold at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Two down and four to go. With four more victories, the U.S. will win the 2011 Women's World Cup, adding a third world soccer championship to those won in China in 1991 and in the U.S. in 1999. Actually, because of Saturday's 3-0 rout of Colombia that swept Coach Pia Sundhage's team into the tournament quarterfinals, all it will require is a tie, or even a loss, against Sweden next Wednesday and three victories after that. Not an impossible task by any means. "I've got a squad with real experience, but it also contains some younger players who've put in some great performances and made just the right decisions when called upon," Sundhage said after the team's dominating performance in front of a sellout crowd of 25,475 in Sinsheim, Germany.

LONDON -- Carli Lloyd's diving header in the eighth minute gave the U.S. a 1-0 lead over Japan at halftime of the gold medal game of the women's Olympic soccer tournament Thursday at Wembley Stadium. The goal came after Alex Morgan, trapped on the goal line, flipped a left-footed pass into the six-yard box for Abby Wambach. But Lloyd ducked in front of it, got her head on it, and drove it into the net. Eight minutes later, captain Christie Rampone and keeper Hope Solo saved the U.S. twice in quick succession.

LONDON — When the clock finally ran out after the U.S. women's soccer team's gold-medal win over Japan on Thursday, a group of players ran from the sideline to goalkeeper Hope Solo while another dashed toward the other end of the field to dog-pile atop Carli Lloyd. How appropriate. Because in a game that was so much about retribution and redemption, few players felt as if they had more to prove than Solo and Lloyd. In the Olympic semifinals, Solo had given up three goals to Canada's Christine Sinclair, the most the U.S. has allowed in a game Solo has played in in more than four years.

LONDON -- Abby Wambach's goal in the 25th minute gave the U.S. women's team a 1-0 lead over North Korea at halftime of the final match of Olympic soccer pool play Tuesday at Old Trafford in Manchester. The Americans, who rolled past France and Colombia in their first two matches, have already clinched a spot in the tournament quarterfinals, but with a win or tie here, they would advance as the group champion. North Korea needs a least a tie to avoid elimination. Wambach's goal came after a long through ball found Alex Morgan deep in the 18-yard box. Two Korean defenders immediately sandwiched Morgan, who had her back to the goal.

LONDON -- Abby Wambach's first-half goal gave the U.S. a 1-0 win over North Korea on Tuesday at Old Trafford in Manchester, sending the Americans on to the knockout round of the Olympic soccer tournament as the group champion. The game was the first women's Olympic match at soccer's most revered grounds, and it was believed to be just the second women's match ever played there. But that wasn't the only history made Tuesday because Wambach's strike was her seventh Olympic goal all-time, extending her U.S. team record.

With the exception of last summer's World Cup matches with Brazil and Japan, the U.S. women's soccer team generally faces few challenges on the field. So Coach Pia Sundhage has tried to foster some of that off the pitch by rotating players through her starting lineup. "It's a good team and there is competition," she said Friday while preparing for the U.S.'s second Olympic match, Saturday against Colombia at historic Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland (NBC Sports Network, 9 a.m. PDT)

GLASGOW, Scotland - Falling behind by two goals after only 14 minutes wasn't exactly the script Alex Morgan had written for her Olympic soccer debut. But it's the one she found herself acting out Wednesday "Once I stepped on that field and the whistle blew, I was considered an Olympian. That was an amazing feeling for me," Morgan said. "And then we were hit with two goals. It was a quick turnaround. " So Morgan, 23, the youngest U.S. player on the field, turned to Abby Wambach, the second-oldest, and came up with a plan.

LONDON -- Abby Wambach's first-half goal gave the U.S. a 1-0 win over North Korea on Tuesday at Old Trafford in Manchester, sending the Americans on to the knockout round of the Olympic soccer tournament as the group champion. The game was the first women's Olympic match at soccer's most revered grounds, and it was believed to be just the second women's match ever played there. But that wasn't the only history made Tuesday because Wambach's strike was her seventh Olympic goal all-time, extending her U.S. team record.

Goalkeeper Hope Solo dug into her bag to retrieve two homemade gold medals moments after the U.S. women's soccer team defeated Brazil in extra time to win the Olympic championship, placing one around her neck and clutching the other a scant few minutes before she would get a genuine medal. Exactly why she did that remains a mystery. Solo repeatedly parried questions about it Thursday, after her stellar performance allowed the U.S. to hold off Brazil's early forays and made Carli Lloyd's 96th-minute goal hold up for a 1-0 victory on a soggy field at Workers' Stadium.

You never forget the first time, Sydney Leroux says. In her case it came when she was just 13, after a bet with her mother over how many goals she would score in a national soccer tournament. For Shannon Boxx it happened in college - and it, too, came on a dare after she led Notre Dame to an NCAA soccer championship. Yet for both women their first and subsequent tattoos have become indelible markers of accomplishment on a road each hopes will lead to a gold medal in the London Olympics this summer.

Maybe the American women had no choice but to look ahead. Their determined run through the Women's World Cup — three weeks' worth of gritty performances and heart-pounding finishes — had ended a few minutes, a few penalty kicks, short of victory. No sooner had they lost to an inspired Japanese team at Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt, Germany, the U.S. players began thinking about chances to redeem themselves. They talked about defending the gold at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.