The U.S. women's soccer team won the bronze medal on Thursday after beating ninth-ranked Australia 4-3.

Why it matters: Thursday's victory marks the U.S. team's first bronze in Olympic history, handing the team a medal after it failed to earn one during the Rio Games in 2016.

• After Thursday's win, the U.S. women's squad has now won four Olympic gold medals, one silver and one bronze.

The big picture: The U.S. team has seen it all this Olympics — disappointing defeat, overwhelming victory and a nail-biting penalty kick shootout.

• Though not the result the reigning World Cup champions had wanted, they bounced back after a bumpy start to the Games.
• The U.S. team lost to Sweden 3-0 in the team's Olympic debut and then overwhelmed New Zealand 6-1.
• The U.S. women's soccer team faced Australia during the group stage of the Tokyo Olympics, where they eked out a 0-0 tie — just enough to earn them a spot in the quarterfinals.
• The U.S. then beat the Netherlands in a penalty kick shootout before losing to Canada 1-0 on Monday.

What's next: Though the U.S. women's soccer team's Olympic run is over, Canada plays Sweden in the gold medal match Thursday night at 10 p.m. ET.