BRASILIA, Brazil -- It wasnt politically correct. But the first words out of Hope Solos mouth after an Olympic quarterfinal against Sweden were undeniably honest and entirely sincere in summing up a days frustrations.The United States dominated possession. It nearly quintupled Swedens shots. It had the first chance and the last chance in open play.The three-time reigning Olympic champion and current World Cup champion is also going home without an Olympic medal of any kind for the first time, eliminated by Sweden 4-3 in a penalty shootout after the teams played to a 1-1 stalemate over 120 minutes of soccer.Cue the goalkeeper who is rarely unwilling to speak her mind, in this case about a team that set out to defend to the last woman.I thought that we played a courageous game, Solo said. I thought that we had many opportunities on goal. I think we showed a lot of heart. We came back from a goal down; Im very proud of this team. I also think we played a bunch of cowards. But, you know, the best team did not win today; I strongly, firmly believe that. I think you saw Americas heart. You saw us give everything that we had today.Unfortunately the better team didnt win.The better team, yes. Almost undeniably. But not the team that best executed its assignment on this day.Which perfectly encapsulates the frustration, if it doesnt excuse the sentiment more suited to a sport with judges. Pragmatism is style in soccer.The United States knew this was coming. Coach Jill Ellis, who rarely shows her hand in the days leading up to games, didnt even offer the pretense evasiveness the day before this one. She used to work for Pia Sundhage, the coach who went home to Sweden after taking the United States to two Olympic gold medals. She knew Sundhage would be pragmatic, especially when it came to the United States. Everyone knew.The United States began Fridays game with a scoreless drought of more than 200 minutes against Sweden, including a scoreless World Cup draw a year ago in Canada. U.S. wunderkind Mallory Pugh was barely in high school the last time the Americans scored against a Swedish team.Sweden is not a minnow in womens soccer, not with players like Lotta Schelin and Caroline Seger. But Sweden and its coach are also not novices ready to run pell-mell into the breach. Certainly not after they were exposed by Brazil earlier in this tournament in a 5-1 loss.They had to do what they had to do, said Carli Lloyd, more measured than her teammate. They had to sit back. They sat back as we expected them to do. They werent confident in their abilities to open up because they opened up against Brazil, and the score sheet was not so great. So yeah, they sat back, they waited for that one moment to counterattack.That moment came in the 61st minute, not as some lumbering stroke of luck, but as the product of some nice interplay around midfield, short passes that set up an open look at a long ball toward Stina Blackstenius. The Swedish player got inside U.S. defender Julie Johnston, gathered the ball and beat Solo with a quality shot to the far post.It was fortunate, but it wasnt lucky. No luckier than the long balls Leicester City sent to Jamie Vardy en route to a Premier League title last season. Soaking up possession and hitting back with a lightning bolt is all the rage.The thing is, while the Swedes were committed and organized in their defending to the end, they werent exactly stopping the Americans in their tracks. The United States didnt play poorly. It wasnt precise enough. It didnt finish well enough; at least one missed chance likely will haunt each of the attacking players who were on the field. Maybe Crystal Dunn could have come on sooner. Maybe the gamble on Megan Rapinoe, a sub who had to be subbed when the game went to overtime, didnt work out. But the United States moved the ball. It had ample opportunity to deliver crosses into the box, to let Pugh slip into space in the middle of the field and play in Morgan, to set up set pieces.It has played worse and won on many occasions.Inside 18 yards, when theres 20 people in the box, it is tough, Ellis said. I dont care what level you play. It is really hard for an organized attack to break down an organized defense. Its really, really hard. So we knew we had a massive challenge. But in terms of what we tried to do, and how we tried to play, I actually thought today [was as well as the team had played] -- especially the first half, for sure, and part of the second half. We tried to play.The U.S. equalizer came in the 77th minute, and more luck was involved in it than in the Swedish goal. Before Alex Morgan could slide home the goal with a composed finish, the ball first had to reach her by way of a ricochet off a Swedish players head after a Dunn header.Surely that was the breakthrough, as a late goal has so often been in major tournaments, and especially those since 2011. But as much as the U.S. women pressed in the final 13 minutes, Dunns presence adding a different energy to the attack, the only ball that found the back of the net was Lloyds header that was incorrectly negated for offside (as was a Schelin goal seconds later).I felt like we were going to score again and win within regular time, Morgan said. But the time just kept going on, and they kept defending well. It never went in the back of the net. I was really optimistic. I didnt even anticipate it going into penalties, either. But it just wasnt our day today.Unfortunately, that means it was the last day in a major tournament until the 2019 World Cup, qualification willing.In the end, the real frustration wasnt from what Sweden did, but what the United States couldnt do to finish what it started -- what it started Friday, and what it started with the World Cup title a year ago.Even just a few minutes more removed from the field, at the end of the questioning that began with her harshest words, Solo modified her stance ever so slightly when asked if it would be acceptable for some teams to play the way Sweden played.Youve got to take your hat off to them because they beat us, Solo said. So theyre going on, like I said, and were going home. They dont have as quality of players as the American team does or as Brazil does, so they have to play a way thats going to give them hope to beat a team like Brazil or the USA. And I think thats part of the tactical side of things. And Pia is somewhat of a tactician, so she dropped her team into a 50 and tried to hit long balls. They could only really score on the opportunity for a long ball or on set pieces.So I guess you can say its smart, but I dont think its respectful to the game.But no matter how strongly some feel otherwise, nowhere more than in the U.S., where the game is part athletics and part art, the game also is set up to produce an outcome.Solos words were a reflection of the frustration inherent in that.What they missed is that Sweden showed its heart, too, right down to Lisa Dahlkvists clincher in the shootout that beat Solo after the keeper delayed the proceedings to fix what she said was a faulty strap on her glove.It would be hard to eliminate the United States without courage.It might well have been a different outcome on another day. Maybe most days. Just not this day. Air Max 95 Destockage .Y. -- Jayna Hefford scored the winning goal Friday as Canada survived a scare with a 4-3 win over Sweden at the Four Nations womens hockey tournament. Nike Vapormax Destockage . -- Lou Brocks shoulder-to-shoulder collision with Bill Freehan during the 1968 World Series and Pete Roses bruising hit on Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star game could become relics of baseball history, like the dead-ball era. http://www.maxnikepascher.fr/destockage-air-vapormax.html . -- Tony Stewart is 20 pounds lighter and has a titanium rod in his surgically repaired right leg. Nike Air Max 270 React Soldes . LOUIS -- Valtteri Filppula assisted on three of Tampa Bays four goals, and the Lightning beat the St. Air Max 720 Femme Pas Cher . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. LOS ANGELES -- UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen has no regrets over his interactions with Texas A&M fans, including remarks about crowd noise at Kyle Field or encouraging them to get louder in the fourth quarter as the 16th-ranked Bruins staged a late rally. His performance in the 31-24 overtime loss to the Aggies, however, left the sophomore with second thoughts.Like I said right after the game, my play is unacceptable, Rosen said Monday. It was a pretty bad first half and I cant let it happen again.Rosen was 26 of 46 for 343 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. The offense had too many if only plays, as coach Jim Mora described them, where Rosen failed to find open receivers or couldnt deliver the ball accurately while under pressure from the talented Texas A&M pass rush.When Rosen could get the pass off, the inexperienced UCLA wide receivers dropped some sure touchdowns.Sometimes you can trump anything good or bad on a play by making a good decision and I didnt. Three very specific plays in particular that I very easily could have thrown to the end zone and scored and hopefully turned the tide of the game, Rosen said. Everyone had their issues.They were especially evident in the red zone, where UCLA only scored one touchdown in six trips including overtime. Rosen failed to complete any of his six pass attempts inside the 20-yard line and was intercepted early in the fourth quarter when UCLA trailed 24-9. Center Scott Quessenberry said the execution in the red zone was not even close to our standard.We come away with two touchdowns instead of two field goals we win that game, Quessenberry said.In spite of those breakdowns, UCLA had a chance to win the game in regulation if not an interception that Rosen threw after Quessenberry snapped the ball early. Left guard Kenny Lacy had been tapping Quessenberry to let him know Rosen was ready for the snap as part of UCLAs silent count, but a Pacc-12 official touched Quessenberry and the redshirt junior mistook it for the signal.ddddddddddddMora has requested an explanation from the conference, describing the sequence as a weird deal.UCLAs focus now turns to its home opener against UNLV on Saturday, hoping to build on what the offense did well. Kenneth Walker had six receptions for 115 yards and one touchdown, hinting the redshirt senior has shed his label as an explosive but inconsistent receiver. Tight end Austin Roberts added five receptions for 61 yards and frequently found space down the seams. Running backs Soso Jamabo and Bolu Olorunfunmi combined to rush for 139 yards and one touchdown.As the game progressed I think we showed what we can be as an offense, Quessenberry said. We were running the ball effectively and we can pass protect with one of the best D-lines in the country. We just got to take those grains of salt going forward and build on them.What wont change is Rosens willingness to engage opposing fans. Rosen praised Texas A&M fans and seemed to enjoy the back-and-forth, which included chants of 50,000, a reference to his remarks that any crowd larger than 50,000 has the same effect on the offense.At the same time, if we came out on top at the end I probably would have given them something at the end, maybe a salute or something, Rosen said.Game notes DE Takkarist McKinley (groin) is day-to-day, Mora said, adding that he would exercise caution with the injury so it does not linger all season. . Mora was hopeful rush end Deon Hollins (concussion) would be available after not playing against Texas A&M. . RB Nate Starks will practice this week and his playing status will be a game-time decision. Starks did not travel with the team to Texas A&M, and his absence was described as a coachs decision. ' ' '
