BRASILIA, Brazil -- It wasnt politically correct. But the first words out of Hope Solos mouth after an Olympic quarterfinal against Sweden were undeniably honest and entirely sincere in summing up a days frustrations.The United States dominated possession. It nearly quintupled Swedens shots. It had the first chance and the last chance in open play.The three-time reigning Olympic champion and current World Cup champion is also going home without an Olympic medal of any kind for the first time, eliminated by Sweden 4-3 in a penalty shootout after the teams played to a 1-1 stalemate over 120 minutes of soccer.Cue the goalkeeper who is rarely unwilling to speak her mind, in this case about a team that set out to defend to the last woman.I thought that we played a courageous game, Solo said. I thought that we had many opportunities on goal. I think we showed a lot of heart. We came back from a goal down; Im very proud of this team. I also think we played a bunch of cowards. But, you know, the best team did not win today; I strongly, firmly believe that. I think you saw Americas heart. You saw us give everything that we had today.Unfortunately the better team didnt win.The better team, yes. Almost undeniably. But not the team that best executed its assignment on this day.Which perfectly encapsulates the frustration, if it doesnt excuse the sentiment more suited to a sport with judges. Pragmatism is style in soccer.The United States knew this was coming. Coach Jill Ellis, who rarely shows her hand in the days leading up to games, didnt even offer the pretense evasiveness the day before this one. She used to work for Pia Sundhage, the coach who went home to Sweden after taking the United States to two Olympic gold medals. She knew Sundhage would be pragmatic, especially when it came to the United States. Everyone knew.The United States began Fridays game with a scoreless drought of more than 200 minutes against Sweden, including a scoreless World Cup draw a year ago in Canada. U.S. wunderkind Mallory Pugh was barely in high school the last time the Americans scored against a Swedish team.Sweden is not a minnow in womens soccer, not with players like Lotta Schelin and Caroline Seger. But Sweden and its coach are also not novices ready to run pell-mell into the breach. Certainly not after they were exposed by Brazil earlier in this tournament in a 5-1 loss.They had to do what they had to do, said Carli Lloyd, more measured than her teammate. They had to sit back. They sat back as we expected them to do. They werent confident in their abilities to open up because they opened up against Brazil, and the score sheet was not so great. So yeah, they sat back, they waited for that one moment to counterattack.That moment came in the 61st minute, not as some lumbering stroke of luck, but as the product of some nice interplay around midfield, short passes that set up an open look at a long ball toward Stina Blackstenius. The Swedish player got inside U.S. defender Julie Johnston, gathered the ball and beat Solo with a quality shot to the far post.It was fortunate, but it wasnt lucky. No luckier than the long balls Leicester City sent to Jamie Vardy en route to a Premier League title last season. Soaking up possession and hitting back with a lightning bolt is all the rage.The thing is, while the Swedes were committed and organized in their defending to the end, they werent exactly stopping the Americans in their tracks. The United States didnt play poorly. It wasnt precise enough. It didnt finish well enough; at least one missed chance likely will haunt each of the attacking players who were on the field. Maybe Crystal Dunn could have come on sooner. Maybe the gamble on Megan Rapinoe, a sub who had to be subbed when the game went to overtime, didnt work out. But the United States moved the ball. It had ample opportunity to deliver crosses into the box, to let Pugh slip into space in the middle of the field and play in Morgan, to set up set pieces.It has played worse and won on many occasions.Inside 18 yards, when theres 20 people in the box, it is tough, Ellis said. I dont care what level you play. It is really hard for an organized attack to break down an organized defense. Its really, really hard. So we knew we had a massive challenge. But in terms of what we tried to do, and how we tried to play, I actually thought today [was as well as the team had played] -- especially the first half, for sure, and part of the second half. We tried to play.The U.S. equalizer came in the 77th minute, and more luck was involved in it than in the Swedish goal. Before Alex Morgan could slide home the goal with a composed finish, the ball first had to reach her by way of a ricochet off a Swedish players head after a Dunn header.Surely that was the breakthrough, as a late goal has so often been in major tournaments, and especially those since 2011. But as much as the U.S. women pressed in the final 13 minutes, Dunns presence adding a different energy to the attack, the only ball that found the back of the net was Lloyds header that was incorrectly negated for offside (as was a Schelin goal seconds later).I felt like we were going to score again and win within regular time, Morgan said. But the time just kept going on, and they kept defending well. It never went in the back of the net. I was really optimistic. I didnt even anticipate it going into penalties, either. But it just wasnt our day today.Unfortunately, that means it was the last day in a major tournament until the 2019 World Cup, qualification willing.In the end, the real frustration wasnt from what Sweden did, but what the United States couldnt do to finish what it started -- what it started Friday, and what it started with the World Cup title a year ago.Even just a few minutes more removed from the field, at the end of the questioning that began with her harshest words, Solo modified her stance ever so slightly when asked if it would be acceptable for some teams to play the way Sweden played.Youve got to take your hat off to them because they beat us, Solo said. So theyre going on, like I said, and were going home. They dont have as quality of players as the American team does or as Brazil does, so they have to play a way thats going to give them hope to beat a team like Brazil or the USA. And I think thats part of the tactical side of things. And Pia is somewhat of a tactician, so she dropped her team into a 50 and tried to hit long balls. They could only really score on the opportunity for a long ball or on set pieces.So I guess you can say its smart, but I dont think its respectful to the game.But no matter how strongly some feel otherwise, nowhere more than in the U.S., where the game is part athletics and part art, the game also is set up to produce an outcome.Solos words were a reflection of the frustration inherent in that.What they missed is that Sweden showed its heart, too, right down to Lisa Dahlkvists clincher in the shootout that beat Solo after the keeper delayed the proceedings to fix what she said was a faulty strap on her glove.It would be hard to eliminate the United States without courage.It might well have been a different outcome on another day. Maybe most days. Just not this day. Air Max 270 Mujer Baratas . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. Nike Epic React Flyknit Hombre . -- Stanford squashed Oregons national championship hopes again, schooling the Ducks in power football. http://www.zapatillasdeportivasairmax.com/ . Robinson finished with 17 points, all but two in the second half, and Lawson had 14 after halftime and finished with a game-high 11 assists as the Nuggets handed Dallas its first home loss in eight games this season. J.J. Hickson led Denver with 22, and Kenneth Faried added 10 points and 10 rebounds. Air Max 270 Flyknit Baratas . Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. Lou Williams scored 25 points and the Hawks continued their offensive upswing as they rolled to an easy 118-85 victory over the Jazz on Friday night, winning their third straight and for the fourth time in five games. Nike Air Force 270 Baratas .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at Boston Strong - a citys recovery from tragedy. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Since the start of preseason practices, Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton has been selling his teams depth as their biggest advantage. On Tuesday night, the Seminoles put that on full display.Six players scored in double figures as the Seminoles cruised to a 99-78 victory over Iona. It is the first time since the 2014-15 opener against Manhattan that they have had that many players in double figures.Overall I was pleased with the direction, Hamilton said. The biggest challenge for us is to utilize the quality of the depth. Were trying to explain that we have to understand that each night it is going to be different guys that are going to step up. Were a team that is going to win by committee.Freshman Jonathan Isaac led the way with 20 points as the 2-0 Seminoles shot 58 percent from the floor (34 of 59) and were 30 of 42 when not shooting 3-pointers. Phil Cofer had 13 points and six rebounds while Terrance Mann (12), Jarquez Smith (12), Trent Forrest (10) and Dwayne Bacon (10) also scored in double figures.They also had nine players who saw 15 minutes or more of playing time as Hamilton continues to look for the best floor combinations.We just wanted to lock in and show people why we should be in the tournament. You cant decide that off two games but you just have to keep playing the way we were playing tonight, Bacon said.The Gaels led for most of the first five minutes before the Seminoles went on a 14-2 run for a 24-13 lead with 10:36 remaining. They would lead by as many as 18 in the first half and had a 47-32 advantage at halftime.FSU led by as many as 26 points midway in the second half as it extended its win streak in nonconference home games to 12.UConn transfer Sam Cassell Jr., who is the son of former NBA and Florida State standout Sam Cassell Sr., led Iona (0-1) with 28 points. Jordan Washington addded 16 and Jon Severe 12.dddddddddddd.The Gaels, who scored 37.3 percent of their points on 3-pointers last season, were 9 of 31 from beyond the arc.They have a lot more size than we have and when Jordan got in foul trouble it hurts our team, Iona coach Tim Cluess said. They did a good job of reversing and driving the ball on us along with really challenging us at the rim and getting us into foul trouble.BIG PICTUREIona: The Gaels lost six players from last years team that made the NCAA Tournament. With two sophomores in the starting lineup, they could struggle early in the season as coach Tim Cluess tries to work in six newcomers into the rotation.Florida State: Coach Leonard Hamilton was eager to see how his team would do against a quality mid-major opponent. The Seminoles struggled early, especially in their transition game, but freshmen Isaac and Forrest looked more relaxed in their second game, combining for 30 points.STAT OF THE NIGHTFlorida State is usually a good team from the free-throw line but it started out by missing seven of its first 10. The Seminoles though would end the night by making 24 of their last 30.HE SAID ITIt felt good getting on the court and playing down here. Its my fathers team. I wanted to beat him so I could talk trash to him but it is what it is. Cassell Jr.UP NEXTIona: The Gaels travel out west for a game against Nevada on Sunday. Ionas first six games are on the road and it doesnt have its first home game until Dec. 4 against Niagara.Florida State: The Seminoles host Winthrop on Friday as part of the NIT Season Tip-Off.---More AP college basketball at http://collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25---Follow Joe Reedy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/joereedy Cheap Jerseys 2018 Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Jerseys 2019 NFL Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Jerseys From China ' ' '