YOKOHAMA, Japan – Alyssa Naeher cannot win the gold medal herself. But damn, it sure felt like she could, didn’t it? With U.S. Olympic hopes on the line in the women's soccer tournament on Friday, Naeher kept finding herself in one of the most impossible positions in sports, goalkeeper facing a penalty kick, and again and again, she beat the house. Five penalties, including one potentially decisive one in regulation. Three saves. Insanity.
“That’s just absolutely ridiculous,” U.S. forward Alex Morgan said. “She’s out of this world.”
The U.S. beat the Netherlands in a shootout, 4–2 after a 2–2 draw, to move on to Monday's semifinal against Canada, and Naeher is far and away the biggest reason.