- The US Women's National Team lost a 1-0 decision to Canada in the Tokyo
Olympics semifinal match. - The US will not win gold or silver at these Olympic games - which are likely
Megan Rapinoe 's last. - She cried on TV while discussing the team's failure to send out Carli Lloyd "on the happiest note."
Megan Rapinoe wasn't interested in sugarcoating the US Women's National Team's second loss at the Tokyo Olympics.
And she wasn't interested in hiding her emotions, either.
"This sucks," an emotional Rapinoe said during her post-match TV interview on USA Network. "It sucks."
With a trip to the gold-medal game on the line, the pink-haired striker and her teammates came up short. They dropped a gutting 1-0 decision to Canada in Monday's semifinal match, and a controversial penalty kick in the 70th minute was the culprit.
"Man, it's terrible," Rapinoe said. "Not our best game, not our best tournament. We didn't have it today. Too many errors from us, again."
"It's a bitter one to swallow," she added.
Though Canada didn't pose a major offensive threat for the remainder of the half, the US side certainly felt Naeher's absence later in the game. In the 70th minute, the officials whistled the US for a foul in the 18-yard box, granting Canada a penalty kick. Jessie Fleming bested Franch to convert from the spot - a blow that stings even more given Naeher's stellar showing during PKs in the USWNT's quarterfinal thriller against the Netherlands.
"They got one shot on goal and a PK," Rapinoe said, then acknowledged the controversial nature of the call. "From what it sounds like it was [actually] a PK."
Rapinoe - who came on for Tobin Heath in the 60th minute - and her teammates failed to equalize from there, taking the USNWT out of contention for gold and silver medals at this year's games.
"Obviously we never want to lose to Canada," Rapinoe said. "I don't think I've ever lost to Canada, so it's a bitter one."
She's right. Before Monday, the USWNT hadn't lost a game to Canada in 20 years. Rapinoe joined the national team for her first call-up in 2006 - more than five years after that last loss.
Rapinoe attributed the team's inability to "click" throughout the tournament to the fact that the players "haven't had our joy, a little bit" and potentially "roster rotations," but added that she "can't quite put my finger on it" when it comes to what went wrong.
While she was clearly upset about the team's performance on the day and in the tournament, Rapinoe truly began to choke up while reflecting on her career and discussing the reaction of her longtime teammate, Carli Lloyd.
"We've been in this a long time together," Rapinoe said, her voice cracking. "We're both closer to the end than the beginning. We shared a lot of those happy moments on the field and not that many sad moments, but we've had a few. We don't even really need to say anything."
"It's tough," she continued. "[Lloyd is] one of the greatest players that's pulled this jersey on, and who knows? It might not be her last Olympics, but it probably is. Obviously we want to send everybody out on the happiest note, and we weren't able to do that today."
Now, the USWNT will shift its focus to the bronze-medal match against Australia's Matildas - whom Rapinoe and company played just a week earlier in the group stage. And even though, like Lloyd, Thursday's game will likely be Rapinoe's last at a major international tournament, she managed to look on the bright side for her teammates:
"There's still a lot to compete for," Rapinoe said. "That's what I told the girls and what we talked about in the huddle."
"It's not the color we want, but there's still a medal on the line."
Check out a clip of the interview below:
-On Her Turf (@OnHerTurf) August 2, 2021