By Matt Gaschk

The US Women’s National Team are Olympic gold medalists and few are prouder than Sounders FC midfielder Servando Carrasco.

He watched on the edge of his seat as his girlfriend, forward Alex Morgan, propelled the US to their third consecutive Olympic gold medal.

However, with the Sounders schedule, he was never in the same spot to watch two matches.

In the dramatic win over Canada in the semifinal, he was flying to Kansas City for the US Open Cup final. He watched the match on the flight, but didn’t see the first half of extra time while the plane was taxiing. Once he got to the terminal, he streamed it on his computer just in time to see Morgan score the game-winner in stoppage time of the second overtime.

“Those are the goals we all dream about,” Carrasco said. “I’m a firm believer that luck is where opportunity meets preparation and that’s what she did. She prepared for when that moment presented itself. Now she has a gold medal around her neck and I couldn’t be prouder.”

The path included several moments that would define the team through the tournament. In the opening match against France, they fell behind 2-0 in the first 14 minutes. After that, they didn’t allow another goal in the group stage, topping France 4-2 with two goals from Morgan, then topping Colombia 3-0 and North Korea 1-0 to advance to the quarterfinals.

There, they beat New Zealand 2-0 to advance to the semifinal where they would meet Canada. Christine Sinclair, who was Morgan’s teammate with the Western New York Flash in WPS, scored three goals, but the US was able to respond with three of their own to send the match to extra time where Morgan had another dramatic moment with the game-winning goal in stoppage time.

“I think overall, their team showed tremendous character and tremendous determination throughout the entire tournament. We all know to go down 2-0 in the first game and to come back and win 4-2 – that’s just a testament to the team’s unity and belief in each other,” Carrasco said. “When you’re down 2-0, you’re back is against the wall and it’s easy to become negative and point the finger, but they did the exact opposite. They stood next to each other and persevered and got better and better throughout the tournament. They got better and better as the tournament went on. They have a lot to be proud of.”

In the final, they faced Japan, who undid the US in the World Cup final in Germany in 2011.

Armed with the disappointment from that match, the US was motivated to accept nothing less than gold in the Olympics. With a 2-1 victory in front of 80,203 in attendance at historic Wembley Stadium, they would emerge champions.

“I remember talking to Alex after the World Cup final and she was devastated – the entire team was devastated,” Carrasco said. “Everything they trained for was for this moment – to have a chance at redemption and that’s exactly what they did. They came out and proved that they’re the best team in the world. They did it together. It was one of those dramatic and inspiring victories that we all love to watch.”