Fresno soccer fans embracing U.S. run to World Cup final (video)

If there is any reason to drink at 4 p.m. on a Tuesday, this was it.

A standing-room only crowd of 100-plus fans squeezed inside Peeve’s Public House on the Fulton Mall to watch the United States topple Germany 2-0 in Montreal and advance to the Women’s World Cup final.

Ryan Richards of Fresno took a short lunch and left his job early as a hotel sales coordinator to catch the match alongside a gathering that included the Fresno chapter of the American Outlaws fan club and some players from the Fresno Freeze women’s soccer club.

He’s done it for every Team USA match this tournament for one reason: the camaraderie.

“There’s nowhere else like it,” said Richards, 29. “It’s incredibly fun to see the Fresno community come together and support the United States.”

For much of the match, the pub crowd was silent, fixated on the action just as much as the players.

Then the crowd erupted in the second half after Germany’s Celia Sasic missed a penalty kick wide left. The next loudest cheer came less than 10 minutes later when the Americans broke the scoreless draw on Carli Lloyd’s penalty conversion in the 69th.

The fans burst into cheers 15 minutes later when Kelley O’Hara doubled the United States lead. Chants of “Dos a cero” and “USA! USA!” quickly filled the bar.

“Nothing is more exciting for a soccer gathering than being with AO Fresno and watching the World Cup,” Freeze midfielder Kelsee Pottorff said.

The American Outlaws of Fresno will return to Peeve’s Public House for the World Cup final at 4 p.m. Sunday when the United States takes on the other semifinal winner between Japan and England.

This story was originally published June 30, 2015 at 9:10 PM with the headline "Fresno soccer fans embracing U.S. run to World Cup final (video)."