Texans prepare to represent Team USA at 2016 Summer Olympics

RIO DE JANEIRO – Team USA women's soccer will kick things off Wednesday in Rio against New Zealand.

Houston Dash midfielders Carli Lloyd and Morgan Brian are looking to make history in Rio.

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No team, not even the dominant Americans, has ever won the Women's World Cup and Olympic gold in the same year.

This team, though, has the goods to pull it off.

Brian makes her Olympic debut alongside Dash teammate Lloyd, who scored the winning goal in the gold-medal game in the last two Olympics.

"I think we're always feeling the pressure of performing, of coming back with gold, and it's in our DNA," Lloyd said.
"I think even if we hadn't won the World Cup, we'd still be under tremendous pressure to win, so it just comes with the territory. It comes with being the number one team in the world and going for a fourth, I think, consecutive gold medal. So it's all part of it, and I'm super excited to get started and I know this team has a lot of depth and we have the opportunity to really create history."

There is only one woman on the USA archery team, and she hails from East Texas.
Mackenzie Brown is out to win gold and inspire other young women.

"I feel very confident," Brown told KPRC Channel 2. "I feel good about how I've been shooting. (I) got a little bit of the jet lag out, and so we're ready to go."

Brown's first Olympic Games will start with a whirlwind day: Her first day of competition is the same day as Friday's opening ceremony.

"I'll be shooting (Friday) afternoon," Brown said. "I'll go straight from the competition venue, I think, change there and then walk to opening ceremonies."

We asked her what her expectations are for the opening ceremony after she watched it as a child.

"The last three Olympic opening ceremonies, I've been at an Olympic training center," she said."Each time I've watched the opening ceremonies, I've dreamed about being there, so it'll be really cool to actually experience everything."

Brown's parents are in Rio to cheer her on. Her grandparents will be watching from their home on Galveston Island.