USWNT (Kind Of) Avenge Olympic Defeat With Win Over 'Cowardly' Sweden

It wasn't the greatest performance from the USWNT in Gothenburg, but it did the job. The United States was looking for some semblence of revenge after a heartbreaking Olympic exit at the hands of the Scandinavian side last summer in Rio. The misery of the penalty shootout defeat was compounded by some bitter words from notoriously outlandish goalkeeper Hope Solo. After the loss, the U.S. No. 1 called Sweden "a bunch of cowards."

Her contract was later terminated by U.S. Soccer and although her suspension ended in February, there was no Solo in sight on Thursday. However, Alyssa Naeher was able to keep a clean sheet for the Americans.

The big star of the match was budding talent Rose Lavelle. The 22-year-old broke the deadlock in the 56th minute with a lovely finish into the side-netting after a nice pass from Crystal Dunn.

in caps for @roselavelle.

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— U.S. Soccer WNT (@ussoccer_wnt) June 8, 2017

The U.S. will be happy with the result after shaky performances in the SheBelieves Cup and after going winless against Sweden in their previous four matches. The team will be looking to build on this momentum when they play Norway on Sunday in Sanjeford.