NICE, France – Let the domination of Colorado women at the Olympic Games begin. Mallory Swanson, Lindsey Horan and Sophia Smith saw no need to wait for the torch to be lit at the Opening Ceremony to start kicking butt and taking names on the soccer pitch. Three stars born and raised in our little corner of the world shook Zambia with some Rocky Mountain thunder in a rousing 3-0 victory that was more sublime than French champagne.
“It definitely felt electric,” Swanson said Thursday. After a rocky transition period pockmarked by an unraveling culture and littered with tearful farewells to red, white and blue legends such as Megan Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd, the U.S.
women’s national team is back, baby. With a single word packed with all-caps punch, I can tell you why a once-dominate program that has slipped to No. 5 in the world rankings is rediscovering its groove as a legitimate gold-medal contender: COLO-RAD-OH! You don’t need a state map to connect the dots on how this opening-round match in Group B was won.
Swanson, born in Littleton, scored two goals faster than you can say “Casa Bonita” midway through the opening half to blow open a 1-0 game that Team USA had dominated with shots that thwacked the frame or missed by a whisper of bad soccer luck. Swanson broke the mounting frustration, then she raised her hands toward heaven. The gesture was not fueled by swagger.
It was an expression of thanks, straight from the heart. “I’m just super grateful. That was t.