CORTINA, ITALY — A tightly contested mixed doubles wheelchair curling match between the United States and Great Britain came down to the final stones in the American’s fourth game of the round robin portion of Wheelchair Curling at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, where Great Britain escaped with a 5–4 victory after a dramatic final end.

Outshooting their opponents overall, the American duo of Steve Emt and Laura Dwyer were forced to watch the final end slip away after Great Britain’s late shot-making shifted the momentum.

Great Britain scored first in the opening end as the British team of Jason Kean and Joanna Butterfield managed to create early pressure around the house and forced a steal of one to take a 1–0 lead.

The United States quickly responded in the second end. With the hammer advantage, the Americans carefully built their scoring opportunity. Dwyer perfectly placed her final stone to protect the American’s scoring position, allowing the United States to even the match at 1–1.

Momentum shifted in the third end when, despite Great Britain holding the hammer, several well-placed American stones around the button forced the British team into trouble. Unable to recover their positioning, Great Britain conceded a steal of one, giving the United States a 2–1 advantage.

Great Britain answered in the fourth end with a well-placed draw that tied the match again at 2–2.

The United States regained the lead in the fifth end with a steady performance around the four-foot circle. With the hammer, Dwyer delivered a draw into scoring position to give the Americans a 3–2 advantage.

The sixth end proved to be the turning point of the match. Great Britain elected to use its power play, shifting the pre-positioned stones to create a more favorable scoring opportunity. After several exchanges around the house, Butterfield delivered a draw into the eight-foot to secure two points and push Great Britain ahead 4–3.

The Americans responded immediately in the seventh end, using their own power play to create pressure. Emt executed multiple takeouts to control the house, while Dwyer’s final tap pushed a British stone farther from the button, allowing the United States to score one and tie the game at 4–4 heading into the final end.

The eighth end produced the most dramatic sequence of the match.

Early stones from both teams crowded the four-foot circle, setting up a tense finish. Midway through the end, Emt delivered a critical tap shot that nudged a U.S. stone closer to the button and briefly put the Americans in scoring position.

Great Britain responded with a well-executed tap from Kean that shifted the American stones slightly away from the center, restoring the advantage to the British side.

Facing the final shot of the game for the United States, Dwyer attempted to navigate a narrow path toward the house. As the stone slid down the sheet, Emt called for it to stay outside the center line, but the stone overcurled and failed to reach the intended scoring position.

With Great Britain holding shot rock, Kean and Butterfield did not need to throw their final hammer stone, sealing the 5–4 victory.

Although the United States came up just short on the scoreboard, the statistics showed how closely matched the two teams were throughout the contest. The Americans finished with 66 percent overall shot success compared to Great Britain’s 62 percent.

Individually, Emt matched Kean with 74 percent shot success, while Dwyer finished at 53 percent.

The United States also held the edge in draw accuracy, averaging 151.6 centimeters from the button compared to Great Britain’s 237.1 centimeters, highlighting the precision of the American stones throughout the match.

With the result, the United States now stands at 2–2 in round robin play at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, remaining firmly in contention as the mixed doubles tournament continues to take shape. Emt and Dwyer will look to bounce back quickly when they face the Republic of Korea on Saturday.