The Norwegians looked like the medal contenders they’re supposed to be; the Americans never looked the part.
Leni Larsen Kaurin outjumped and outmuscled U.S. defender Lori Chalupny to head the ball over charging goalkeeper Hope Solo and into the net in the second minute.
Two minutes later, Melissa Wiik latched onto a deep pass on the right side after the U.S lost the ball in midfield, then outraced U.S. captain Christie Rampone and curled a right-footed shot past Solo and just inside the far post.
“We are satisfied,” Norway coach Bjarne Berntsen said. “We are very grateful for the tremendous start. After the great start, we played a very, very good defensive game.”
Norway, which handed the U.S. its only other Olympic loss in the 2000 gold-medal match, dominated the first half as a sluggish U.S. team seemed out of sync in the back and lacking creativity up front.
The loss was the first for U.S. coach Pia Sundhage, who took over in November after the team’s third-place finish at the 2007 World Cup.
“My glass is always half full, so for us it’s a new experience to lose a game,” she said. “I’m happy that it’s the first game and not the last, so we still have two more games to go, and we’ll take out this part - the second half - for when we play Japan and New Zealand.”
