Hope Solo blunders but U.S. women clinch Rio Olympics group anyway

The unspoken bargain is basically this: the United States women’s national team will tolerate Hope Solo’s off-field issues and baggage, the run-ins with the law and the volatility, and in return she’ll keep being one of the best women’s goalkeepers ever – if not the very best outright.

In Tuesday’s final group stage game, however, a 2-2 tie with Colombia, Solo wavered from her usually transcendent standards to give up two unusually soft goals in the USA’s final group stage game at the Rio Olympics.

“I personally gave up a goal I wish I could take back,” Solo told NBC after the game. “I’ve been around the game long enough to know these things happen. I’m going to choose to have short-term memory and put this one behind me.”

The first one was fairly unfathomable. In the 26^th minute, an unnecessary foul by Megan Rapinoe, newly back after eight months of injury, gave Catalina Usme a free kick from just outside the box. She popped her effort around the America wall, but right at Solo, who had but a routine save to make on the low ball. But she inexplicably let it skitter through her legs.

 

Hope Solo had a free kick go through her legs for Colombia’s first goal. (Getty Images)

The U.S., which rested or rotated several regulars, had never given up a goal against Colombia in five games, which they won by a total score of 18-0. In fact, Colombia had never scored in the Olympics before.

It was a remarkable slip-up for Solo, who’d been outstanding so far in this tournament and has now put together the better part of a decade of unimpeachable play for the U.S. It was Solo’s handiwork in goal that conserved a 1-0 win against France on Saturday that clinched the Americans’ spot in the quarterfinals in their quest to win a fourth straight gold medal.

This has been a strange tournament for Solo, who has found herself booed mercilessly by the local crowds for a pair of tweets demonstrating her rather elaborate precautions against the Zika virus, which had caused her to contemplate skipping the tournament altogether. That story blew up in the local press and won her no fans in Brazil.

Oddly, local fans have chanted “Zika!” at her whenever she has kicked the ball.

But after all of those games in which Solo bailed out her teammates, they returned the favor against a physical and aggressive Colombia. Well, almost.

Before half-time, Christen Press, who had already come close to scoring, set up captain Carli Lloyd. The reigning World Player of the Year saw her blast parried by Sandra Sepulveda and carom off the bar. But Crystal Dunn got to the loose ball first and deftly flicked it through the defenders and into the net.

Then, after the intermission, the 18-year-old Mallory Pugh became the youngest American scorer in Olympic history when she collected a Dunn cross, took the ball back across the box and scored.

She almost got another a while later but strayed off-side on Christen Press’s return pass on a give-and-go.

But then Usme resumed tormenting Solo with her free kicks. In the 77^th minute, she whipped a long one off the crossbar.

And then, in injury time, she dispatched a soaring free kick from out wide which flummoxed Solo. She reached for the punch but misjudged the ball’s flight, which would settle in the far upper 90. On that play, she didn’t exactly cover herself in glory either.

Ultimately, the dropped points were of little consequence as the Lady Yanks won Group G anyway, ensuring that they will play Sweden, the third-placed team from Group E, in Friday’s quarterfinals at 3 p.m. Eastern. But the uncharacteristic fumbling by their star goalkeeper gives reason for pause. Heading into the knockout stages, Solo can’t afford any more fumbles with the margin for error all but gone.