Athens, Greece ? More than 100 American reporters jostled for position in the interview pen two hours after the U.S. women’s soccer team won the Olympic gold medal 2-1 over Brazil in extra time Thursday night. “Where’s Mia?” “We need Julie!” “Can you get us Brandi?”

The scene was quite different 13 years ago, when Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Brandi Chastain, Kristine Lilly and Joy Fawcett won the inaugural Women’s World Cup in China. They had to fax their results to family members back home because most newspapers in America weren’t paying attention. When the team plane arrived in the United States, it was met by a lone reporter.

The players reminisced about the anonymity during a post-game meeting that dragged on past 1 a.m. There were hugs and words of good wishes to the younger generation.

Hamm, 32, Foudy, 33, and Fawcett, a 36-year-old mother of three, played their last games in a USA jersey Thursday. Chastain, 36, and Kristine Lilly, 33, are contemplating retirement. Hamm, Fawcett and Lilly played together for 17 years, making their national team debut in 1987, when teammate Heather O’Reilly still was in diapers.

As the U.S. players belted out the “Star Spangled Banner” atop the gold-medal platform, victory wreaths propped up by their ponytails, it was clear this was the end of an era for U.S. women’s soccer.

It was time to say goodbye to the women who captivated the nation during the 1999 Women’s World Cup, gracing the covers of most

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every major magazine, yukking it up with David Letterman, and drawing a television audience of 40 million and a sellout crowd of 90,000 — including then-President Bill Clinton — for the final at the Rose Bowl.

“There are only a few times in your life when you can write the final chapter the way you want to, and a lot of us got to do that tonight,” Hamm said. “We couldn’t have scripted it any better. This is the way this group deserved to be remembered.”

“We wanted to leave on top and make people look at women’s soccer and fall in love with it again,” Fawcett said.

The U.S. women's soccer squad celebrates its victory against Brazil in the gold-medal match. The Americans won, 2-1, Thursday in Athens, Greece.

The U.S. had lost in the final of the 2000 Olympic Games and in the semifinal of the World Cup last October.

Foudy said the “timing is perfect” for the elder players to bid adieu.

“Look at who scored our last three goals,” she said, referring to O’Reilly (19), Lindsay Tarpley (20) and University of Florida grad Abby Wambach (24), who scored the game-winning header in overtime Thursday and three other goals during the Olympics.

“The younger kids give so much, but we cast a large shadow so they don’t get a lot of the attention,” Foudy said. “And yet they deserve so much attention. They’re going to be awesome.”

Hamm agreed.

“We are leaving the team in a very good state,” Hamm said. “This is absolutely perfect timing to leave the team to the younger players.”

The U.S. was outplayed by Brazil for 90 minutes Thursday. Rosana and Elaine attacked early. Marta and Pretinha were all over the field, pressuring the American defense and making life difficult for U.S. goalie Briana Scurry. Tarpley finally broke the ice in the 39th minute. Scurry saved what could have been a Brazil equalizer a few minutes later.

Pretinha stuck the ball in from close range in the 73rd minute to tie the score, and Brazil missed two chances off the post in the closing minutes. In the 112th minute, Wambach leaped to connect with a Kristine Lilly corner kick, and the U.S. fans among the 10,416 at Karaisakaki Stadium chanted “USA! USA!”

The U.S. players’ relationship with coach April Heinrichs has been rocky at times. When the final whistle blew, the players leaped into each other’s arms on one side of the field, and draped themselves in American flags. Heinrichs celebrated with her staff across the field. Nevertheless, Heinrichs was very complimentary of her veterans.

“I’m not sure we can measure their impact to be honest, other than to say that Foudy, Hamm, Lilly, Fawcett, Chastain, Scurry have really put women’s soccer in the forefront of consciousness,” Heinrichs said. “They have raised the level for respect of female athletics and taken it to a higher level in professionalism.

“You can go back to virtually every hurdle that we crossed in the women’s game and credit these players.”