photo by: Eraldo Peres/Associated Press

United States goalkeeper Hope Solo fails to stop a penalty during a penalty shoot-out in the quarter-final match of the women's Olympic football tournament between the United States and Sweden in Brasilia Friday Aug. 12, 2016. The United States was eliminated by Sweden after a penalty shootout.

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to try to rebuild the image of one Hope Solo, a statuesque beauty with phenomenal athletic ability.

Impossible, right?

Yet, image shapers will trip all over themselves trying to be the one to show that the Team USA goalie carving herself a place in the pantheon of history’s sorest losers merely was a misunderstanding, a few regrettable words that don’t reflect the true spirit of a great competitor.

Where can one even begin to try to downplay Solo’s inane statements in the wake of a stunning upset at the hands of Sweden, an early ticket out of the Rio Olympics for Team USA, winners of four gold medals and one silver in the five previous Olympic Games that featured women’s football, known here as soccer?

The aptly named Solo brought shame to an otherwise admirable group of young women in the wake of Sweden scoring the upset in a shootout.

“We played a bunch of cowards,” Solo said. “The best team did not win today. I strongly, firmly believe that.”

Sweden’s defensive approach, devised by coach Pia Sundhage, who coached USA to gold medals in 2008 and 2012, teams for which Solo tended, offended the soccer purist in Solo.

“I guess you can say it’s smart, but I don’t think it’s respectful to the game,” she told reporters.

Calling winners “cowards,” however apparently does respect the game.

Sundhage won the war of words with a simple response: “I don’t give a crap. I’m going to Rio. She’s going home.”

No image reshaping necessary there. And Solo’s remarks did serve one purpose. It gave me a country for which to root, not always easy after USA exits the competition. Go, Sweden, go!

As for Solo, I suppose the image shapers could start by pointing out that the fact that she limited her rage to words actually could be construed as a sign of progress, given her stormy past.

This from an Oct. 2, 2015 report from ESPN.com’s magnificent investigative reporter Mark Fainaru-Wada regarding a June 21, 2014 incident that led to Solo’s arrest on two counts of domestic violence against her sister and nephew: “The police were trying to book her into jail, but Solo was so combative that she had to be forced to the ground, prompting her to yell at one officer, ‘You’re such a b—-. You’re scared of me because you know that if the handcuffs were off, I’d kick your ass.’ “

She told a cop who had asked her to remove a necklace that it was worth more than he made in a year, according to police records. Nice. That’s in keeping with the original spirit of the Olympic Games!

A judge dismissed the charges, her role as Team USA goalie never was threatened, and she was able to embarrass herself and her country with her mouth. Her Twitter apology: “Losing sucks. I’m really bad at it.”

I feel the same way about poetry. I never have understood it and certainly can’t write it. I do remember thoroughly enjoying a touching limerick about assassinated California Angels outfielder Lyman Bostock, penned by a friend of my late, great brother George. Other than that, I just don’t get poetry.

Now I need help writing a limerick about Hope Solo. I tried, it started OK, but then hit a snag and failed miserably. After reading mine, please use the space below to improve upon it.

There once was a tall goalie named Hope

A beauty was she but spoke like a dope

The victors she said were not brave

This she claimed after her failed save

So into Hope’s mouth we go with soap

Surely, you can do better. Please improve upon it, especially the rhythm of the final line.