BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil — Hope Solo was unaffected by the Brazilian boos as she made her 200th international appearance.
Solo came up big as the United States fought off France 1-0 on Saturday in an Olympic group match at Mineirao Stadium. Carli Lloyd scored the lone goal for the Americans.
Solo became the first goalkeeper, male or female, to reach the 200-cap mark in international play. She also became just the 11th U.S. player to reach that number of appearances.
Despite the milestone, Solo was still peppered with jeers from the crowd, who were riled up about social media posts she made about the threat of the Zika virus. The boos first started during the team’s 2-0 tournament-opening win against New Zealand on Wednesday.
The U.S. women, winners of last year’s World Cup and ranked No. 1 in the world, are vying for their fourth straight gold medal. With consecutive wins to open the Olympics, the United States is in good position for the quarterfinals.
France, ranked No. 3, was considered the Americans’ biggest rival in the group.
Lloyd broke through in the 64th minute against France goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi. Tobin Heath’s shot caromed off the post, and while Bouhaddi struggled to recover, Lloyd tapped in the rebound for her eighth Olympic goal.
FIELD HOCKEY: The United States claimed one of the biggest wins in its Olympic women’s field hockey history, defeating second-ranked Argentina 2-1 in its opening match.
Katie Reinprecht and Michelle Kasold scored for the Americans, who haven’t medaled since 1984, when they claimed bronze in Los Angeles.
The United States gained momentum this year by placing third in the Champions Trophy in June, and its No. 5 world ranking is its highest ever.
TENNIS: Venus Williams lost in the first round to Kirsten Flipkens, a Belgian ranked 62nd who only once has reached the semifinals at a Grand Slam event.
Just two points away from winning on four occasions, the 36-year-old Williams faded as the match stretched past 3 hours and lost 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5).
U.S. Coach Mary Joe Fernandez said Williams was sick before arriving in Brazil and had cramping, dehydration and an upset stomach after her loss, but still hoped to play doubles Sunday with her sister, Serena.
Williams owns four gold medals: one in singles and three in doubles.
SWIMMING: After repeated frustration on the sport’s biggest stage, Katinka Hosszu of Hungary crushed the world record in the women’s 400-meter individual medley to win the first Olympic medal of her career.
Also on a late night of swimming, Japan’s Kosuke Hagino ended American dominance in the men’s 400-meter individual medley, and Australia set a world record as it beat the U.S. in the women’s 4×100 freestyle relay.
Hosszu led all the way and touched in 4 minutes, 26.36 seconds, easily eclipsing the record of 4:28.43 held by China’s Ye Shiwen.
Hosszu had time to turn toward the scoreboard and savor her triumph before Maya DiRado of the United States touched in 4:31.15 to take the silver medal.
Australia won the freestyle relay with a time of 3:30.65. The U.S. team, anchored by Katie Ledecky, took silver in 3:31.89.
CYCLING: Greg Van Avermaet of Belgium outsprinted Jakob Fuglsang and Rafal Majka on the long run to the finish at Copacabana Beach to win the men’s road race.
Van Avermaet threw his arms in the air and let out a roar when he crossed the line, blowing a kiss to the sky. Fuglsang took silver and Majka coasted contentedly across to take bronze.
The race was thrown open on the final descent of the Vista Chinesa climb, when Italian star Vincenzo Nibali and Colombian counterpart Sergio Henao crashed on a sharp bend after building a lead
Majka was with them and managed to stay upright, but he was eventually reeled in near the finish. That left Van Avermaet – the best sprinter of the group – to sprint away for gold.
GYMNASTICS: In the midst of arguably their finest team performance in four years, a familiar nemesis provided the U.S. men with a reminder that nothing comes easily.
Chris Brooks and Sam Mikulak spun off the pommel horse, but the U.S. still scored 270.405 points in the preliminary round – second only to two-time defending champion China.
The team finals are Monday.
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