Over the next eight years, the US went 77-4 in international competition and won another Olympic gold medal. It was about as dominant a performance as the team could ask for, but in a foreshadowing of things to come, three of those four losses came at the hands of Japan.
In the 2008 Olympics, the US looked unbeatable once again, outscoring opponents 57-2 through the first eight games. The US had beaten Japan twice in pool play before the teams met again in the gold medal game. Then, with ace Cat Osterman on the mound for the Americans, Japan shocked the US by scoring three runs while holding the high-powered American offence at bay with a dominant pitching performance by Yukiko Ueno. Japan won the game, handing the US its first Olympic loss in eight years and its first silver medal. To make matters worse for the US, the International Olympic Committee had already announced that 2008 would be the last Olympics to feature softball. The Americans would not have an opportunity to avenge the loss.