Abby Wambach and the Most Clutch American Athletes

Obviously this list is not exhaustive, as I could go through American international sports history for hours and still leave stones unturned. These are the ones that stick out to me. Feel free to comment about oversights.

8. Briana Scurry

Kept the Chinese scoreless in the final of the 1999 Women's World Cup, and blocked Liu's shot to lift the US to victory in penalties.

7. Zack Parise

Scored with 25 seconds left in the Men's Ice Hockey Gold Medal Match of the 2010 Winter Olympics to take Canada to overtime.

6. Jesse Owens

Fearlessly went into the lion's den, winning four gold medals in Berlin and embarrassing the unforgiving racist Hitler in the 1936 Olympics.

5. Lance Armstrong

Continually beat the French at their own game, in their own house. Won seven straight Tour de France races, and even more clutch, helped convince Peter LaFleur to return for the ADAA Dodge ball Championship.

4. Landon Donovan

Got the US men's soccer team out of group play in last year's World Cup with his last second goal against Algeria.

3. Abby Wambach

Turn on SportsCenter. She blasted a header in with no time left, overcoming some of the poorest officiating in soccer history.

2. Mike Eruzione

Scored the goal which lifted the American Hockey team to a gold medal victory over the Soviet powerhouse in the 1980 "Miracle on Ice."

T-1. Jason Lezak

He came from behind on Alain Bernard, the best 100-meter freestyle swimmer in the world, in the 4x100 meter freestyle relay of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Bernard said they would "smash" the Americans and when he was forced to eat his words (along with a lot of pool water), he wept like a baby. Lezak kept Michael Phelps' chances at eight Olympic Gold Medals alive and reminded everyone why the French needed us to bail them out of both World Wars.

T-1. Michael Phelps

Beat Milorad Cavic by 0.01 seconds in the 100 meter butterfly to take home his eighth gold medal and beat the record held by...

T-1. Mark Spitz

What else can you say? He won seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Olympics, the last by a nose in the 100 meter freestyle.