he United States Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT), revived by a fresh-faced coaching staff and a roster of young, dynamic players positioned to keep the squad at the top of the table for the next decade or more, won the Olympic gold medal on Saturday at Parc des Princes, defeating Brazil in the final 1-0. Team USA, which hadn’t won an Olympic gold medal since , and was bounced from in the round-of-16, the earliest-ever exit for an American team, returns to its familiar position as the team-to-beat. After a scoreless first half in which Brazil attacked early and often, with an attempt at goal two minutes in and a fantastic chance in stoppage time that U.
S. keeper Alyssa Naeher kept out of the net, Mallory Swanson put the U.S.
on the scoreboard with a barely-defended run up the left side, off an assist from Korbin Albert. That invigorated the U.S.
women, who followed with a couple more crowd-pleasing runs that were blocked by Brazilian defenders In stoppage time, Naeher made a nifty one-handed stop to preserve the victory. Emma Hayes, the Brit who won seven titles with Chelsea F.C.
in the Women’s Super’s League and was late last year to retool the USWNT—she joined after leading Chelsea in May to yet another championship—led the team to gold in her first global competition as head coach. Hayes made several key moves. First and foremost, she restored the players’ confidence in the team’s tactical approach.
“The learning that we're obtaining in the meetings, .