Day 5 - Game 1 USA vs Argentina

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Today was our first game. We woke up to a cool, dreary day in Sao Paolo with a threat of rain. We arrived at the field one hour prior to our match. After a long warm-up due to the late arrival of the gold medal favorite Argentinians, the game began. We went toe-toe with them and the referees let us play physically. In the 30th minute, the opponent scored on a loose ball in the box after a well placed corner kick. The half ended 1-0 for Argentina. Sure enough, the rain started to come down quite heavily. In the 20th minute of the second half, the opponent notched their second goal on a header from a very well taken service to the back of the six yard box. Our keeper had no chance as the ball caught the side netting at the far post. In the 35th minute, Team USA responded when Indy hit a curling ball from 23 yards into the top left corner cleanly beating the outstretched arms of the keeper. The last minutes were furious as USA tried to equalize against their physical, well-organized opponent. The game ended 2-1 for Argentina. As per our usual, there were moments of good "Lenny-like" play with other moments where we fell back into our old habits. All-in-all, a good result against a very good side. We left the field feeling positive about our effort, knowing that we have some work to do as we aim for our first victory. We hope to see the Argentinians again in the finals to give them another run for their money.