U.S. wins soccer gold over Brazil

BEIJING, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Carli Lloyd scored in overtime on a rain-soaked field Thursday and the United States held on to defeat Brazil 1-0 for the women's Olympic soccer gold medal.

The Americans won for the third time in the four Olympics the sport has been contested and gained revenge for a loss to Brazil in the semifinals of the most recent World Cup.

After losing their opening game in preliminary play to Norway, the United States turned into a dominant team.

"We got better with every game," said goalkeeper Hope Solo, whose stop of a shot by Brazilian star Marta in the 72nd minute preserved the scoreless tie. "All I know is that we were playing with a different energy tonight."

Lloyd's goal came from just outside the penalty area and appeared to catch Brazilian goaltender Barbara leaning the wrong way. The ball scooted just to the left of the goaltender and bounced across the chopped up, soft ground into the net.

Germany defeated Japan earlier in the evening 2-0 to win the bronze medal.

The United States victory came with a new group of players who have taken over following the retirement of the stars who gave rise to American prominence in the sport. The Americans also played the tournament without striker Abby Wambach, who suffered a broken leg a month prior to the Games. Wambach has scored 99 international goals.