U.S. beats Japan 2-1 to win Olympic women's soccer gold

 LONDON, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Midfielder Carli Lloyd scored a brace¹ to inspire the United States to beat Japan 2-1 in the final of the Olympic women's soccer tournament on Thursday.

The American outfit², who lost to Japan in last year's world cup final, looked more determined³ to retain their Olympic title, and they did not wait long for their first goal.

In the eighth minute, Lloyd headed in a pass from Alex Morgan to put the defending champions ahead. Then in the 54th minute, the 30-year-old midfielder doubled their lead with a powerful shot.

Lloyd was understandably elated by her own performance.

"This is pretty crazy. Back in Beijing (2008 Olympic Games gold medal match) I scored the only goal against Brazil, and now I have scored two goals in the final here. Maybe for my third Olympic final I'm going to have to score a hat-trick," she said.

"But I feel I have played really well in this entire tournament. I tried to step up and lead things and was trying to be the player who would make the difference," she said

Japan, technically⁴ superior but physically⁵ inferior, pulled one back in the 63rd minute when unmarked Yuki Ogimi scored on a mishot from Homare Sawa.

The world champions came close to scoring twice. In the 18th minute, Ogimi saw her shot fingertipped by the Amerian goalkeeper Hope Solo and bounced off the bar.

A quarter later, a mesmerizingly-organised attack by Japan left America's defence in tatters, but to the disappointment of the Japanese supporters, skipper Aya Miyama's shot hit the bar.

"When the game ended I was sad. But we did well and we did everything we could, so it's OK," Miyama said.

1 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

2 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

3 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

4 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

5 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。