RIO DE JANEIRO -- The roaring crowd at the Maracana Stadium desperately wanted Lisa Dahlkvist to miss.It didnt bother her at all.Dahlkvist just pretended all those Brazilians were cheering for Sweden, and then she stepped up and buried her penalty kick to eliminate the host country and send the Swedes to the Olympic soccer final.The noise was for me, to get the ball in the goal. Simple answer, Dahlkvist said, laughing while describing how she tuned out the din at the nearly full stadium.Sweden advanced to the gold medal match in womens soccer for the first time by beating host Brazil 4-3 in a penalty shootout following a scoreless draw.And it was the second time Dahlkvist had come through under pressure on penalties: Her kick ousted the favored U.S. women in the quarterfinals.Brazil forward Marta, one of the biggest stars of the tournament, buried the first kick of the shootout. But at 3-3, Sweden goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl stopped Andressas shot before Dahlkvist beat Barbara to end it, stunning the packed home crowd.Sweden, which has never before played in the gold match at the Olympics, will face Germany for gold on Friday at the Maracana, the site of the mens World Cup final in 2014. The Germans defeated Canada 2-0 in the later match Tuesday in Belo Horizonte.Brazil will play for the bronze on Friday in Sao Paulo against Canada.Marta had one of Brazils best chances to put her team in the lead, but her free kick in the 115th minute bounced before the goal and Lindahl was able to snag it.The fans at the 78,000-seat Maracana -- the biggest crowd ever for a womens national team match in Brazil -- roared whenever Marta touched the ball. Brazils charismatic forward won FIFAs Womens World Player of the Year five consecutive years from 2006-10. But she has never won a major international tournament with her national team.One fan lofted a sign that said Marta We Love You.This loss wont take away from all that we have done to get here, Marta said. We have the match for the bronze medal now and we will fight until the end to get that medal. We have to pick up the pieces to try to win this medal.Both teams had their chances in the opening 90 minutes, and the intensity rose as the defensive-minded Swedes started going on the attack more.Sweden was riding high after knocking off the three-time defending champion United States in the quarterfinals. The loss sent the top-ranked Americans home without a medal for the first time since womens soccer joined the Olympics in 1996. The World Cup champions were vying for their fourth straight gold.Sweden deployed a defensive strategy against the United States and advanced 4-3 on a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw in Brasilia. Afterward, U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo drew attention for calling Sweden a bunch of cowards for its style of play.Sweden coach Pia Sundhage used a similar tactic against Brazil, changing her approach after losing to Brazil 5-1 in group play. Marta and Beatriz scored two goals each in that first match.Sundhage said that Sweden did not use Solos comments as motivation against Brazil.What people are saying in the media, its not a big deal. Very often you say it, and I dont even really think you mean it, Sundage said. We talk about football.Sundhage coached the United States to gold medals at both the Beijing and London Games. A victory in Brazil would give her a third-straight Olympic title.The Brazilians have twice won silver medals at the Olympics. Both times, at the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Games, the United States won in the final.Swedens best finish was in Athens when the team fell to Germany in the bronze medal match. Brazil beat Sweden 1-0 in the semifinals at those Olympics.Yes, we are very excited. That we are doing something that the Swedish national team has never done before -- play for a medal -- its a big smile, Sundhage said. Still, were not satisfied. We want to win the next game. Wholesale Nike Flex China .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Cheap Nike Flex Shoes Online . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. http://www.cheapnikeflex.com/ . -- James Young couldnt wait to apply those tweaks to his jump shot, and the first one he made against UT Arlington told him it could be a good night. Cheap Nike Flex Shoes . The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. Discount Nike Flex . "Thank you for the warm welcome," Beckham said on an 80-degree February morning. In this case, it was soccer weather. The sport moved a step closer to returning to South Florida on Wednesday, when Beckham confirmed he has exercised his option to purchase a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in Miami. ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates -- Nico Rosberg will no longer be known simply as the son of Formula One champion Keke Rosberg.The German driver is now a champion in his own right after clinching his first title on Sunday to match his fathers achievement from 1982.Two Rosbergs are world champions ... if Ive got my statistics right, Nico Rosberg joked moments after clinching the title.Graham Hill (1962, 1968) and Damon Hill (1996) are the only other father and son to have won the title.Rosbergs second place at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was enough to wrestle the title away from Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton and also prevented his archrival from clinching his third straight and fourth overall.Its unbelievably special to beat him because the levels so high, Rosberg said. It makes this so much more satisfying for me, because hes the benchmark and I took the world championship away from him.Rosberg ended on 385 points to Hamiltons 380.Just like his father, Rosberg drives in the No. 6 car.His 67-year-old father was one of the most flamboyant drivers of his generation.Every Saturday night I get a text from him: `Pedal to the metal. Thats it, Rosberg said. Its been good how hes let me get on with it and taken a step back. So Im very thankful for that.Rosbergs title went down to the wire in a nerve-shredding finale.I was relieved his father said after the race in the F1 paddock. Two laps from the end I was nervous.With Hamilton purposefully slowing him down, two other drivers hard on his tail and the title on the line, Rosberg did not crack.Hamilton won the race from pole position for his 53rd GP win. But Rosberg was 12 points ahead of him before the race and only needed to finish no lower than third if Hamilton won.It was so intense, the race, so tough, said the 31-year-old Rosberg, who finished runner-up to Hamilton in the past two years.Rosberg repeatedly wiped his face and lowered his head several times in the post-race news conference, appearing emotionally exhausted as he tilted back into his chair and rubbed his eyes.Still, he expects to find plenty of energy to celebrate his win.Tonights going to be absolutely nuts, he said. I dont think Im going to be available for a few days.Hamilton made it hard for Rosberg by disobeying team orders to speed up near the end, in a bid to back Rosberg toward Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen in third and fourth places, respectively.If I had dropped behind those guys, it was over, Rosberg said.ddddddddddddVettel could not quite pass Rosberg, finishing third ahead of Verstappen and fourth overall in the championship behind Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo.Nico drove well not to make a mistake, said Hamilton, who won 10 races this year.As Hamilton deliberately slowed in the later stages of the race, his team told him over race radio to up the tempo.Hamilton ignored them and then even ignored a direct order from Mercedes executive director Paddy Lowe four laps from the end.I dont know why they just didnt let us race, Hamilton said. Its a bit of a shame.Vettel was a wheels length away from him on the final lap, but Rosberg kept his cool and his elation was evident as he let out a delighted screech of Yes! World champion! when he crossed the line.Then he jumped out of his car and danced around the track before being hugged by his mechanics and was tossed into the air by his Mercedes crew.He then grabbed Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone and lifted him into the air.On the podium, Rosbergs eyes were watering as the weight of his achievement sank in and he thanked his wife, who also wiped away tears nearby.Rosberg survived earlier drama when he was close to colliding with Verstappen on lap 21 as they jostled for second place.For the Mercedes pair, the race had started serenely.With the sun setting on the Yas Marina track, Hamilton was on pole for the 12th time this season and got away cleanly, as did Rosberg.Meanwhile, Verstappens car went into a spin following contact shortly after the start, dropping him down from sixth to last, but the daring Dutchman soon caught up.Hamilton came in for his first tire change on the eighth lap, and Rosberg came in for his on the next lap.But the German driver was held up for a couple of seconds by Vettel, who was just coming in for his stop, and when he came out, he was behind Verstappen and Hamilton.Rosberg needed to overtake Verstappen, the youngest driver to win an F1 race who has earned a reputation for his risky, borderline dangerous overtaking and has upset other drivers this season.They twice almost came into contact, but Rosberg showed great courage to then pass him.The battle out there with Max was unreal, Rosberg said. Max went full on aggressive. As usual.Rosberg held on to beat Hamilton by just five points.Cant believe its over, Rosberg said. Im ecstatic. 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