SAN DIEGO — Ninety-three seconds. That’s the time it took on Wednesday for thousands supporting the U.S. women’s national soccer team to suddenly fall silent at Snapdragon Stadium.
Once an optimistic sea of red, white and blue who were hoping to watch an idyllic Southern California ending to the SheBelieves Cup, the crowd was instead left stunned as Japan‘s Yuka Momiki pounced on a stray pass and found the back of the net by the second minute.
Although the U.S. would quickly find an equalizer through rising star Ally Sentnor in the 14th minute, the visitors wrestled back momentum in a game that would decide the winner of the tournament. Clever with its pressing and constantly creative with incisive passes that cooled the U.S. as the temperature dropped, Japan put on a show with its confident play that led to a second-half goal from Toko Koga and an eventual 2-1 victory.
By the 85th minute, hundreds of U.S. fans had given up. Heading toward the exits, they watched their team unable to find a second goal. Coach Emma Hayes, on the cusp of suffering her first defeat since taking charge of the U.S. team last year, could do little to help her side, which was outplayed in a loss that snapped its run of five consecutive SheBelieves Cup titles. And yet minutes…
