BEIJING – In her first Olympic appearance, former University of Hawai`i standout Natasha Kai, and the United States women's soccer team won the gold medal Thursday, defeating Brazil 1-0 in extra time. For the U.S., the gold medal is their second straight at the Olympics and third out of the last four.

 

Kai was making her first Olympic appearance and substituted in during extra time Thursday and played the final 19 minutes of the game.

 

Carli Lloyd scored in the sixth minute of the second extra time, giving the United States a 1-0 lead. As the final whistle sounded, the Americans charged across the field, hugging anyone in sight. A crowd of 51,612 witnessed the game, including Kobe Bryant, Pele, FIFA president Sepp Blatter and International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge.

 

Kai played in all six games for the U.S. and scored one goal. Her one goal was one of the biggest for the U.S. during its run to gold. In the quarterfinal match against Canada, Kai came off the bench and scored the winning goal in the 101^st minute, advancing U.S. to the semifinals.

 

Coming into the Olympics, the U.S. was one of the favorites, but after losing their first match, the Americans won their final five, leading to the gold.

 

Overall at the Olympics, Kai played 199 minutes, started one match and scored one goal. She had eight shots, with four on goal.

 

After starting the first game for the U.S. and playing 90 minutes, Kai came off the bench in the next five. Against New Zealand she logged 33 minutes, she played in 30 minutes against Canada, including her game winner and she played in 23 minutes against Japan in the semifinals.