Rio 2016: Mallory Pugh’s career kicks off to great start despite women’s soccer team defeat to Sweden

The teenager’s team may have been knocked out of the Olympics, but she has a bright future ahead

Mallory Pugh dribbles the ball during game versus Sweden (AP)

The women’s national soccer team has lost out on its fourth consecutive gold medal at the Olympics after drawing 1-1 with Sweden, but one of its most promising players, 18-year-old Mallory Pugh, has a bright future ahead.

Pugh, who turned 18 in April, is the youngest ever player to score a goal in the Olympics.

Millions of people watched her start for the team against New Zealand, beat France 1-0 and then score a goal against Colombia on Tuesday, dribbling the length of the box past several defenders before turning round and scoring through a gap in the Colombia defense.

The team lost out on Friday, drawing with Sweden. But Pugh’s career has had a massive kick start.

“I didn't think that it'd happen this soon, but I definitely thought that this was something I wanted to do when I'm old and have a job,” she told Fox Sports.

The last eight months have been an exhilarating ride for Pugh, after she debuted for the US national team in a friendly game against Ireland on 23 January.

The teenager from Denver has spent her life traveling the world, playing for national youth teams before heading to Brazil for the 2016 Olympics.

At 17, she went straight from the under-17 team to the under-20s, skipping the under 18 and 19 age group.

After deciding between various offers from sport clubs and college scholarships, Pugh has decided on the University of California, Los Angeles, and has deferred the offer until January.

She has told reporters she wants to play professionally after college.

Women's soccer was also in the spotlight before the Olympics thanks to the team's fight for equal pay. The players claimed they earned 25 per cent less than the men’s team.

After losing gold at the Olympics, comments streamed in on social media that the women's team did not “deserve” the money.

Midfielder Megan Rapinoe and the team’s legal battle was highlighted by Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in April as an example of where women perform as well as men yet do not get the same treatment.

“We cheered when they won the World Cup and we cheered when they won the Olympic Gold medal and we noticed that our men’s team hasn’t yet done that,” said Ms Clinton.

“And yet somehow the men are making hundreds of thousands of dollars more than the women.”

In May, the US Senate unanimously approved a non-binding resolution calling on the US Soccer Federation to “immediately end gender pay inequity and to treat all athletes with the respect and dignity those athletes deserve.”

As the likes of Pugh and her teammates continue to shine on the national stage, however, equal pay might still become a reality.