The USA Women’s 7s team finished Day Two of the Brazil 7s in Sao Paulo with a 1-2 record, and in those two losses, scored zero points and allowed 62.

But that’s not the story of Sunday for the Eagles. The story is that they won the game they really, really needed to. In the opening clash of the day, the Eagles defeated England 22-12. Kristen Thomas opened the scoring right off the kickoff with an excellent try, as she started to use her footwork to evade tacklers rather than just trying to run around them. Bui Baravilala converted and then scored one herself for a 12-0 lead. Thomas scored again and the USA led 17-0.

England, of course, came back and made it a ballgame at 17-12. Then came a crucial play. The Americans were trying to get out of their own end, and knew that a turnover would lose the game for them. A pass went to ground, and Ryan Carlyle opted not to dive on the ball, but instead toed it across to Jessica Javelet. In a sport where one mistake or one smart play can make or break a game, or a tournament, this was one of those plays. Had the Americans fumbled the ball or had Javelet not gathered that rolling ball, things might have been different. Instead, Carlyle’s option was the right thing, as Javelet picked up the ball, cut through a gap and went the distance. Her try made it a two-score game, and secured the win for the USA.

So after that, the Eagles were shut down by Australia, the eventual winners, and New Zealand, who took third place.

So fourth, and 14 valuable World Series points, should do much for the USA team’s confidence, as should the dominating win over Spain, and a clutch win over England. There’s more to do, but the USA showed marked improvement this week.