Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin are headed to the gold medal game.

Down one in the eighth end of Monday’s Olympic mixed doubles curling semifinal, Thiesse stepped to the line to throw her hammer. She could have played a draw to the button for one that would force an extra end, but the Americans decided to take a risk.

“Take an extra breath, do what you do best,” Dropkin could be heard on the broadcast telling his teammate.

Thiesse, who shot 82 percent on the day, played a takeout of the Italian stone sitting on the four-foot, and rolled it off enough to tap the second Italy stone and sit just inches closer to button. It gave the U.S. a score of two and secured a 9-7 victory over the defending Olympic gold medalists.

Dropkin threw his hands up in celebration, and the duo embraced in a hug to celebrate the biggest moment for U.S. curling in eight years.

By reaching the semifinals, Thiesse and Dropkin secured the U.S. its best-ever finish in mixed doubles curling. Now, Cory and Korey are guaranteed to leave Cortina with a medal. Thiesse will become the first U.S. woman to win an Olympic medal in curling.

It was a match full of momentum swings as both teams made great shots and costly mistakes. 

In the second, Stefania Constantini’s double-takeout attempt missed by inches, setting up an easy draw to the button by Thiesse to even the score at 2-2.

Italy stole two more in the third, but the U.S. bounced back in the fourth. With two American stones sitting on the button, Amos Mosaner attempted to bump one out but missed, rolling the stone out and instead setting up a draw for three for Team USA. Thiesse’s hammer throw did what it was supposed to, and the U.S. went into the halfway break up, 5-4.

Through four ends, both Thiesse and Dropkin were shooting 94 percent, while Italy was shooting a combined 75 percent.

Italy tied the game again with a single point in the fifth.

It was the first time the U.S. had two options for their hammer throw: go for the easy draw to the button for one, or the more difficult takeout for two. The Americans chose the latter, and their risk paid off. Thiesse got the takeout to give her team a 7-5 lead with two ends to play.

Seemingly the first mistake of the match for the Americans came on the third U.S. stone of the seventh. Sliding down the ice, Dropkin burned the rock and had to take it off the sheet, setting up a house empty of U.S. stones for Italy. On the penultimate throw, Mosaner’s rock formed a straight line of Italian stones across the house with just one rock remaining for the U.S. Thiesse took one out, but Constantini got the draw, giving her team three and an 8-7 lead going into the final end.

Mosaner and Dropkin finished with 10 takeouts each. 

The U.S. shot a combined 84 percent and hit 93 percent of draw shot attempts.

With the win, the Americans will move on to face Sweden in the gold medal game.

SCOREBOARD

Italy (8)
 
United States (9)

2
1st end
0

0
2nd end
2

2
3rd end
0

0
4th end
3

1
5th end
0

0
6th end
2

3
7th end
0

0
8th end
2