Getting to two finals is difficult in the same season.
It hasn't always been a sweet ride. When I was 15, I almost hated racing in finals because I was so nervous. But as I got more experienced, I had to choose between fight and flight - and I've fought every time.
It is always nice to get to finals, but never nice to lose in them.
In the 123rd minute of the semifinal game at the Olympics against Canada, I scored the game-winning goal that brought us to the finals. You can't replicate those do-or-die moments in practice or a friendly game.
You want to play in finals, and they don't come much bigger than the Champions League final.
I may not have played men's football, but I've been at World Cups as a player. I know the emotions. I've been in quarter finals, a semi-final. I'd been substituted and sat on the bench watching us lose a penalty shoot-out. I know what happens, what you need when the pressure's on.
I was fortunate enough to play in a number of finals, and I can still remember waking with butterflies in my stomach. It is at moments like those you realise why you fell in love with football in the first place.
It was not until the end of my freshman year in high school that I thought I could really have a future in track and field. I definitely did not think I could make it to the Olympics back then, though; I was just focused on making it to the state finals!
I did GCSE's and A-levels. I did my finals after the Lions tour in 2009 to get my law degree. So I've always had an eye on life beyond playing, irrelevant of the period in my career.
Tournament football is unlike anything else. The campaign can be great, but a finals is a different challenge.
