Olympic Soccer Threepeat: Hope Solo, Carli Lloyd Lead U.S. Women to Gold!

Lloyd scores two goals and leads her team to a third consecutive Olympic triumph

By Jenna Mullins Aug 09, 2012 8:50 PMTags
Women's Soccer, Team USARonald Martinez/Getty Images

Just one year after losing to Japan in the 2011 World Cup final, Hope Solo, Carli Lloyd and the entire U.S. Women's Soccer team have taken back the gold.

With a 2-1 victory in the Olympic gold medal match, the U.S. won its third straight Olympic gold medal. Can you say dynasty? We can.

The first goal of the match came early on via Lloyd's header, setting the stage for 90-minutes of U.S.domination, and then a second goal came early in the second half courtesy of Lloyd again. The Americans enjoyed a comfy 2-0 lead until the 67th minute, when Japan cut the lead in half. 

From then on it was a nail-biting battle of the defenses, both sides scrambling to protect the net—and with enough near-goals to stop your heart multiple times—all the way until the final minute. In the end, the United States was able to come away with the victory, thus cementing their status as the best women's soccer team in the world.

"Congrats to the U.S. women's soccer team for a third straight Olympic gold. So proud. –bo," President Barack Obama offered via Twitter.

As the commander in chief, said—congrats, ladies! We'll see you in 2015 for the FIFA Women's World Cup!