PARIS -- After a long, hot, ponderous afternoon of frustration, Trinity Rodman took the ball down, shimmied to her left and delivered a brilliant laser of light when the United States women's national team needed it most.
Rodman's blistering shot from a tight angle rippled the net in extra time, simultaneously sending the crowd into hysterics and Rodman's teammates into a pile-up on top of her. It was a magnificent goal, and one that proved to be the difference in a 1-0 U.S. victory over Japan in a tense quarterfinal match at Parc des Princes on Saturday.