The gals win gold

The USWNT have officially won their fifth gold medal, and the first for this generation. Notes from a jubilant, festive day for women's footy enjoyers at the Parc des Princes

— Paris

Outshot, out-possessed, frequently out-pressured, tired legs. But Mallory Swanson made it 1-0 in the 57th with a cool finish to change the game.

One year after missing the 2023 World Cup with a patella tendon tear, cutting short her blistering, record-breaking form, Swanson scored what would become the game-deciding goal in her 100th cap in the Olympic final. With it, she became the team’s leading scorer with four goals in the Games, clinching the program’s fifth gold medal, and the first for this generation. 

This time, the game-deciding goal didn’t precede a collapsed pile of players in the box, their legs too tired for any other celebration in the dying embers of an extra-time knockout match. Instead, Swanson flung her arms out jubilantly, her trademark style, with teammates descending toward her in the left corner of the field.