Cal at the Olympics: Alex Morgan Injured, but USA Soccer Captures Bronze
Just when everyone was saying the United States team was getting too old to remain the world's dominant women's soccer team, the "old" players made a stand.
Thirty-nine-year-old Carli Lloyd and 36-year-old Megan Rapinoe scored two goals apiece to lead the USA to a 4-3 victory over Australia in the bronze-medal game at the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday.
Lloyd became the U.S. Women's National Team's top scorer in Olympics history with 10 goals and its second-most-capped player of all time, after Kristine Lilly, with 312 appearances.
Former Cal star Alex Morgan was part of the bronze-medal victory, but her impact was limited. She did not start the game, played only nine minutes, did not score and got injured.
Alex Morgan. Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Sports
Morgan did not enter the game until the 81st minutes, replacing Lloyd, and she was on the field when Australia scored its third goal, making it 4-3. Morgan created a good opportunity for herself to score in the 88th minute, but did not convert. She was then injured during stoppage time and had to be helped off the field with the Americans out of substitutes.
There was no report that Morgan was injured heading into the game, so the reason for her limited playing time is unclear.
Alex Morgan's scoring chance. Photo by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Sports
What this means for Morgan's future with the U.S. Women's National Team is hard to say. The 32-year-old Morgan scored one goal in the Americans' six games, and also converted a critical penalty kick in the shootout victory over The Netherlands in the quarterfinals. But her playing time was limited throughout the tournament.
In fact, it's hard to say what the future holds for a lot of the American players, including Rapinoe and Lloyd. Despite the victory over Australia, anything less than a gold medal is considered a disappointment for the U.S. women's soccer team, which had won four of the six gold medals awarded in women's Olympic soccer prior to this year. And a number of the key players who have led the American team in recent years are well past their 30th birthday.
But for one more day it was a glorious occasion for Rapinoe and Lloyd.
"I feel great about this win. I was so excited to play this game. I'm not just rebranding it for myself to make it something," Rapinoe told Telemundo Deportes. "We really didn't play well the entire tournament and we finally put it together tonight. I'm just bursting with pride for this team. We knew all of us had another level to what we showed in this tournament. Nobody was anywhere near satisfied with their play and certainly not us up front and in midfield."
Megan Rapinoe's second goal:
Lloyd, who will turn 40 next July, did not announce her retirement after the game, but hinted that it is coming soon.
"Physically I feel really good," she said in the post-match news conference. "At some point I have to hang up the boots and live life. I haven't made any official announcement yet but obviously I am at the tail end of my career."
The fourth USA goal and the second Carli Lloyd goal of the day:
The USA built a 4-1 lead, then had to hold on as the Aussies scored twice against American goalie Adrianna Franch, who played instead of injured No. 1 goaltender Alyssa Naeher.
This is the second straight Olympics in which the American failed to get a berth in the gold-medal game, which will be contested between Canada and Sweden, which will be played at 5 a.m. Pacific time on Friday.
Former Cal teammates oppose each other in water polo
Spain's Roser Tarrago won a faceoff of former Cal teammates when her team defeated Anna Illes' Hungary team 8-6 in in a semifinal women's water polo match. That put Tarrago and Spain into the gold-medal game against the United States, which defeated the Russian Olympic Committee team 15-11 in the other semifinal.
Tarrago was in the starting lineup for Spain and attempted five shots without recording any goals. Illes was not in the starting lineup for Hungary, but scored a goal on five attempts.
Tarrago and Illes were both on Cal's water polo roster in 2014 and again in 2017.
---Rising Cal senior Kitty Lynn Joustra scored a goal for The Netherlands in the Dutch team's 13-6 victory over China in a loser's bracket game of teams vying for fifth place.
---Emma Wright, who has one year of eligibility left at Cal, scored two goals for Canada, but the Canadians lost to Australia 14-12 in a loser's bracket game. Two other members of the Canadian team -- Kindred Paul and Kelly McKee -- also played water polo at Cal but neither scored.
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Cover photo of Alex Morgan by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Sports
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