C
armelina Moscato hasn't been in her Kellner Hall office for long but it's al- ready starting to shape up and reflect her personality. That's long been a selling point for Wisconsin women's soccer coach Paul Wilkins, who has recruited Moscato twice — once as a player to Penn State, and now as an assistant with the Badgers. "She brings a different element, a different ex- citement and a different set of eyes, which is fan- tastic for us,'' Wilkins said of Moscato's addition to her staff. "She's confident with what she knows and that plays a big part in coaching. "She loves the game. She loves the sport. And she has this great personality.'' There's something else that sets Moscato apart. A bronze medal from the 2012 London Olympics. Eyeing the prize, she said, "It's the peak, the pinnacle; it's pretty beautiful.'' Moscato played for Team Canada, which edged France in the bronze medal match that was staged off-Broadway (or off-Fleet Street) in Coventry. It was still significant because it was Canada's first
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medal in a traditional team sport at the Summer Olympics since men's basketball won silver in the 1936 Games in Berlin. But not even that historical perspective may have totally lessened the lingering pain from Can- ada's controversial loss to the United States in the semifinals. Abby Wambach's late penalty kick sent the match to extra time and Alex Morgan got the game-winner for the Americans in the 123rd min- ute.
The controversy stemmed principally from a
free kick that was awarded to the U.S. after Cana- dian goalkeeper Erin McLeod was called for delay of game — for holding the ball for more than six seconds. On the ensuing kick, a Canadian player was charged with a handball in the penalty area, and Wambach converted. The 4-3 loss was tough to swallow, Moscato ad- mitted. "Basically, it was the most pivotal moment of our careers in the sense that we had a day of mourning,'' she said. "We kind of understood that we had this goal of going for it all (the gold) and now it's not going to happen, so what do you do?
