PARIS, France — The U.S. women’s soccer team takes the field Thursday for their first game of the Summer Olympics, and three players from Colorado are on the team.
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Athletes in handball, rugby and soccer are competing Wednesday and Thursday – ahead of the opening ceremony Friday. Archery also gets an early start with the first arrows shot on Friday.
Team USA’s first women’s soccer game is against Zambia in group play.
Colorado players on the team are:
- Lindsey Horan, of Golden
- Mallory Swanson, of Highlands Ranch
- Sophia Smith, of Windsor
Horan went to Golden High School and played for the Colorado Rush club. She now lives in Lyon, France, where she plays for that city’s soccer team. She’s the captain of the U.S. Women’s National Team. This is her third Olympics.
Swanson, who attended Mountain Vista High School and plays for the Chicago Red Stars, missed the 2020 Tokyo Olympics due to an injury. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, she was the youngest player on the team. This is her second Olympics.
Smith played soccer and basketball at Fossil Ridge High School, then attended Stanford University, where she played soccer for two seasons and helped her team to the 2019 NCAA Championship. She currently plays for the Portland Thorns. This is her first Olympics.
Another Colorado native, Janine Beckie, plays for Canada due to her dual citizenship. She’s from Highlands Ranch and attended Valor Christian High School before going to play for Texas Tech. This is her third Olympics: She led Canada’s soccer team to a bronze in 2016 and a gold in 2020.
How to watch
Team USA women’s soccer
Group A: USA vs. Zambia
1 p.m. MT Thursday
Television: 1 p.m. on Universo, and 7 p.m. on USA Network
Streaming: Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC and NBC Sports apps
Team Canada women’s soccer
Group A: Canada vs. New Zealand
9 a.m. MT Thursday
Television: Universo
Streaming: Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC and NBC Sports apps
