Long Beach fans celebrate US women’s soccer team’s nail-biting win in Olympic semis

It was a normal morning on Second Street.

Long Beach’s popular shopping-and-dining thoroughfare, in the city’s Belmont Shore neighborhood, was quiet for most of Tuesday morning, Aug. 6, though by 11 a.m., there was some tepid activity on the street.

Around that same time, inside Second Street’s iconic sports bar, the atmosphere was rapturous.

About 80 people gathered inside Legends Restaurant & Sports Bar on Tuesday morning to watch the United States women’s national soccer team defeat Germany 1-0 in the first of two Olympic semifinals — and book a spot in the gold medal match.

The match was as close as the scoreline suggested. With each U.S. goal-scoring opportunity, the crowd inside Legends waited to erupt. With each German counterattack, the crowd held its breath.

When the breakthrough came — via Sophia Smith’s 95th-minute match winner — so did the eruption. At last.

“The turnout this morning is incredible,” said Peter Chapman, vice president of the Long Beach chapter of the American Outlaws, the biggest supporters group for both the men’s and women’s national teams. “There were a lot of folks already here at 8:45 a.m. on a weekday. If we get to the gold medal stage, we’ll get this place packed and it’ll be rockin’.”

That gold medal match, now assured, will take place at 8 a.m. Saturday against Brazil.

But Tuesday’s die-hards were perhaps more on edge than they initially expected to be.

The U.S. women, the fifth-ranked team in the world, have experienced a resurgence this year under new head coach Emma Hayes. Hayes, widely considered the best women’s coach in the sport, was brought in from English Premier League side Chelsea after the USWNT were bounced from the 2023 Women’s World Cup in the round of 16, which marked the squad’s earliest exit in its illustrious history.

The USWNT have not lost in the nascent Hayes era — with seven wins and one draw since June.

And that streak includes a dominant run through the group stage of the Paris Olympics, during which they dispatched Germany with ease 4-1.

But the USWNT found a far more steadfast foe during the semifinal in Lyon, France.

And for the fans inside Legends, and elsewhere, it was a nervy affair.

The U.S. dominated possession. They had four more total shots and three more on target than Germany. And once again, the USWNT’s stingy defense — three clean sheets in five matches at the Olympics, with only two goals conceded — held firm.

But Hayes has opted to stick with the same core of players and has made few substitutions througout the tournament, despite a short turnaround between matches and needing extra time to beat Japan in the quarterfinals.

And that showed against Germany.

There appeared to be some tired legs among the U.S. starting 11. And while they maintained the bulk of possession, combination play often seemed too slow to develop, particularly in the first half, with passes coming either too early or too late — and poorly weighted as well.

“The U.S. was playing very contained in the first half,” Kevyn Reekes of Long Beach, who was a goalkeeper throughout high school and college, said from Legends during the break. “We need to be more aggressive in the second half.”

Reekes eventually got her wish.

The U.S. came to life late on in the second half, particularly forwards Smith and Mallory Swanson.

But one goal was called off because of a clear offsides. Other shots sailed wide of the net or sailed over the cross bar — or fell harmlessly into the arms of German goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger. The best chance came in the 79th minute, when chaos ensued in the penalty box after a corner. U.S. captain Lindsey Horan headed the ball cleanly — and with power — toward the net. But Berger made a stellar diving save.

Inside Legends, each opportunity elicited cheers from the crowd and a member of the the American Outlaws banged on a drum.

But the chances withered and the cheers died.

And the Germans had plenty of chances of their own, largely on the counterattack — causing anxiety levels to rise inside Legends.

But regulation ended 0-0. It was on to extra time.

And the Legends die-hards didn’t have to wait long for jubilation.

U.S. centerback Naomi Girma played a ball to midfielder Sam Coffey near the half-way line. Coffey made a quick, crisp pass to Swanson, who took one touch, turned and hit Smith with a perfectly weighted through-ball.

Smith did the rest. She dribbled to the goal with a defender on her hip. Berger came off her line to meet Smith — who then chipped the ball over the German keeper and into goal.

It was sublime.

Legends exploded into a cacophony of whoops, claps and drums. Beers sloshed. Fans ran up and down the bar.  The players on the pitch, meanwhile, collapsed into a dogpile.

“This is amazing,” Long Beach resident Kara Mirarchi, who was at Legends with her two kids, ages 11 and 5, said after the goal. “This is what we do. We know how to close it.”

But the U.S. still had to defend for another half hour.

The U.S. defense bent at times and, during a late corner, nearly broke. But Germany couldn’t find the equalizer. After two stoppage-time minutes had expired, the whistle blew — and the fans inside Legends could finally relax:

The USWNT will head to Paris, to the Parc des Princes, to the medal podium.

The only question is whether their necks will be draped with silver or gold.

The Answer will come Saturday. And Mirarchi knows where she and the kids will be.

“This is where I watch all the championship games and I know where I’ll be for the final,” she said of Legends. “One-hundred percent, we’ll be here Saturday morning.”

And she won’t be alone.

Photographer Howard Freshman contributed to this report.

How to watch

What: Women’s Olympic soccer gold medal match, USA vs. Brazil.

When: 8 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 10

Where: Parc des Princes stadium, in Paris.

Television: USA Network, Telemundo (Spanish) and on NBC’s Peacock streaming service.