Sophia Smith’s dramatic extra-time goal sends USWNT into Olympic final

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A pair of golden moments vaulted the United States into the women’s soccer gold medal game.

First it was Sophia Smith, chasing down Mallory Swanson’s pass and completing a note-perfect finish around goalie Ann-Katrin Berger.

Then it was Alyssa Naeher getting her foot on Laura Freigang’s header, preserving the USWNT’s lead with a minute left in extra time.

At the end of another 120-minute slog, it was the USWNT on top of Germany by a 1-0 score in the Olympic semifinal — moving on to face Brazil in Saturday’s final, when they’ll play for the program’s first gold since 2012.

“I saw like a little opening and I was just like, ‘I’ve got to put it there. Just put it there,’ ” Smith told reporters in Lyon, France. “It was a good feeling. I know that I had a few other chances this game that I should have put away. But sometimes, one is all it takes.”

Coach Emma Hayes, speaking about the striker who has been one of the USWNT’s best players in France this summer, was more succinct.

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“Soph,” she told reporters, “has just f—ing gone on another level in this tournament.”

Though the U.S. controlled much of the possession, it took 95 minutes for that to translate into a decisive chance in a match where both sides struggled to break through.

After the USWNT beat Germany, 4-1, in the group stage, breaking down their mid-block and getting the ball into danger areas proved a tough task, with the game’s first 94 minutes largely played without grade-A chances.

Rose Lavelle’s shot less than four minutes into the game, which produced a save out of Berger, stood as the game’s best for some time.

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As against Japan one round earlier, it left the door open a little too long in a match that turned a little too sluggish.

But style points at the Olympics are for gymnastics, not soccer, and Naomi Girma’s superb performance at center back did not go unnoticed, with Hayes calling her “the best defender I’ve ever seen” after the game.

“All I kept thinking as the game’s getting harder was ‘Dig harder. Suffer a little bit longer,’ ” Hayes said. “Listen, this is top level, you’re only going to get one shot. You can’t play the same team twice and have it be the same game. So I’m really proud of our ability to just hang in, even though it was tough.”

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In the 85th minute, Swanson finally put the ball in the back of the net, but it was quickly called back for offside.

Ten minutes later, it was her ball that played in Smith for what ended up being the game’s decisive moment.

“The goal is closer, but the job’s not done yet,” Swanson told reporters. “I think that, obviously, we’re in a great position. You take this win and we’re on a high right now, but it’s important just to stay steady with everything we’re doing. Just stay steady.”

It would take 25 more minutes of hanging on, and a game-saving kick from Naeher after the ball found Freigang’s head in the scramble that ensued after a German free kick went directly into the American wall.

When the whistle came, the Americans ran to embrace their keeper.

It is not quite as emphatic as the last time the USWNT played an international tournament in France, but with one game to go, it still has yet to trail in these Olympics.

And it is now 90 minutes away from rising atop the sport for the first time in five years.

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