The United States women’s soccer team became the latest in a long line of teams to avenge previous notable defeats.
After losing a heartbreaking match to Japan in the 2011 World Cup final, the U.S. bounced back for a dominating triumph in the 2015 final.
Here’s a look at others who pulled off a similar accomplishment, beating the team that previously beat them in a notable situation.
2014 San Antonio Spurs — A year after one of the most heartbreaking losses in NBA Finals history (Ray Allen’s game-tying 3-pointer in Game 6), the Spurs dominated the Heat, notching each of their four Finals wins by at least 15 points.
2009 Pittsburgh Penguins — Despite a dominant season from a young Sidney Crosby, the Penguins fell to the Detroit Red Wings in the 2008 Stanley Cup finals. But Pittsburgh bounced back, overcoming a 3-2 deficit in the 2009 finals to down Detroit behind Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
2009 Alabama Crimson Tide — In 2008, No. 1 and undefeated Alabama lost to No. 2 Florida in the SEC championship game. Florida went on to win the BCS title. In 2009, Alabama was undefeated again and ranked No. 2 when it played No. 1 Florida for the SEC title. This time the Tide won, and went on to capture the BCS title.
2004 Boston Red Sox — What a way to get to the World Series. After losing to the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series the previous season, Boston found itself trailing New York 3-0 before battling back to win four straight games. The Red Sox went on to beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series to end the franchise’s historic drought.
1994 San Francisco 49ers — While the 49ers may not have been avenging a Super Bowl loss, Steve Young was looking to get the monkey off his back after back-to-back losses against the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship Game. The third time was the charm for San Francisco as Young led the 49ers past Dallas before routing the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX.
1991 Duke Blue Devils — A year after being routed by 30 points in the NCAA championship game against UNLV, Duke earned perhaps the sweetest revenge of all. The Blue Devils ended UNLV’s undefeated season with a 79-77 win in the Final Four before going on to win the title against Kansas.
1990 West Germany — The Germans had lost in the final in the previous two men’s World Cups, most recently to Diego Maradona and Argentina in 1986. But in their rematch in 1990, two Argentina red cards allowed the Germans to score a late penalty to end their World Cup disappointment.
1989 Detroit Pistons — After blowing a 3-2 series lead in the 1988 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers (losing the final two games by one possession), the Pistons swept Los Angeles in the Finals the following season.
1985 Los Angeles Lakers — In the middle of one of the greatest rivalries in NBA history, the Lakers had their revenge with a 1985 championship after losing in seven games to the Boston Celtics and Larry Bird in the 1984 NBA Finals.
1984 Edmonton Oilers — In 1983, the Oilers and Wayne Gretzky were swept by the New York Islanders, who won their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup. The following season, Edmonton earned its revenge, taking the 1984 Cup from the Islanders behind Gretzky and Conn Smythe winner Mark Messier.
1983 Philadelphia 76ers — After dropping the 1982 NBA Finals to the Lakers, the 76ers brought in Moses Malone, who dominated an aging Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to lead Philly to the 1983 NBA title.
1973 New York Knicks — Willis Reed and the Knicks got their revenge in 1973 after the Lakers and Wilt Chamberlain beat New York in five games during the 1972 NBA Finals.
1956 New York Yankees — After blowing a 2-0 series lead in the 1955 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers, the Yankees came back to capture the title in 1956 behind World Series MVP Don Larsen, who tossed a perfect game in a pivotal Game 5 with the series tied 2-2.
1956 Montreal Canadiens —After falling to the Red Wings in back-to-back Stanley Cup finals, the Canadiens finally got the better of Detroit in 1956, winning the series 4-1 to earn their first of five consecutive Stanley Cups.
