By: The Associated Press (AP)
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The U.S. women's soccer team was gushing with goodwill on Friday, a day after beating Japan in the Olympic final.

The team avenged a deeply-felt loss to Japan in the 2011 World Cup, but midfielder Lauren Cheney said there was no animosity heading into the rematch.

"On the gold medal stand, we were all just saying how much we love Japan and how much fun they are to play," Cheney said. "We have so much respect for them and they always play us well and play a great game."

But their admiration for the Japanese was nothing compared to their own camaraderie.

"There's so much love, we tell each other that all the time but it's so genuine and it's so much fun to be around each other," Cheney said. "To know that's our last time to play, we are just going to enjoy it as much as we can."

— Jenna Fryer — Twitter http://twitter.com/jennafryer

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Athletes

Lauren Cheney