Breaking It Down: A Soccer Match for the Ages

Doug Mills/The New York TimesMegan Rapinoe of the United States, left, and Sophie Schmidt of Canada in the semifinal game on Monday.

Ali Krieger is a defender for the United States women’s national soccer team and plays for FFC Frankfurt. Because of an injury, she is not playing for the team in the 2012 Games. She was an alternate on the 2008 United States Olympic team and started for the Americans in last summer’s World Cup. She has been writing for the 2012 London Olympics blog, and this is her third post.
Wow. I am still speechless from our match on Monday night, and I am assuming many of you are as well. After surviving a near heart-attack-inducing ending, I honestly have not stopped smiling since the final minute of extra time.
What an epic semifinal match with so much drama, emotion and fight. This match will go down in women’s soccer history as one of the best ever played. This is why soccer is such a beautiful game; it involves passion that one can scarcely put into words. I can’t tell you the last time I saw a game that featured a hat trick, three comebacks, a penalty kick, controversial calls and overtime. It was the most memorable game of this Olympics, although the United States team still has one more to play