Great Britain's Bruce Mouat and Jennifer Dodds proved why they're the gold medal favorites so far in Cortina. The duo took down Team USA, the only other unbeaten team, 6-4 on Saturday. 

After allowing a big end to the U.S. in the fifth, Team GB responded with single points in each of the sixth and seventh, and didn't even give the Americans a chance in the eighth. 

The U.S. trailed, 4-1, at the halfway break. It was just the second time all tournament they’ve trailed after four ends.

They turned it around in the fifth. With hammer, Korey Dropkin placed his team’s penultimate stone on the back of the button to have the Americans sitting at least two, and possibly three.

Great Britain’s final stone didn’t curl enough to knock the U.S. out, and Cory Thiesse’s hammer throw sailed right into the center. It was at least three for the Americans, who opted to measure for a possible four. The measurement came up inches short, but the three points evened the score, 4-4, with three ends to play.

It was the third measurement of the match. The first was in the first end, and went for Great Britain to help them score three in the opening frame.

A measurement in the second end also went against the Americans.  Their hammer throw attempt came up just short, and they had to settle for one and a 3-1 deficit.

Dodds, who finished the day shooting 82 percent, attempted a double-takeout in the sixth but got just one as Team GB went back ahead by a single points.

They added another in the seventh, despite the U.S. using its power play. Team GB was sitting one on the button and another on the eight-foot-line with two U.S. stones remaining. Thiesse attempted a double takeout that would have given her team two, but she came up just short, and Great Britain instead picked up a steal for the second time in the game.

“We had a wee blip, let's say, in the fifth end, but bounced back with a score the next end, and we knew that was crucial, scoring in that sixth end," Dodds said. “We controlled the last two ends really well.”

With the steal, the U.S. maintained hammer in the eighth, but it didn’t matter. Team GB crowded the house with three stones sitting behind a U.S. guard, and the Americans were forced to concede their final stone and take the defeat.

Team USA had just three takeouts in the loss, compared to 10 for Great Britain. Thiesse shot just 25 percent on takeout attempts.

"It wasn't our best performance, but we still had chances against a really great team," Thiesse said. 

"We just need to reset, think like a goldfish and go out with a fresh mind," Dropkin added. 

The Americans won’t have much time to dwell on the loss. They’ll return to the ice at 1:05 p.m. ET to take on South Korea, the last remaining winless team in the tournament.

With the win, Great Britain (7-0) clinches a spot in the semifinals, which will be played on Monday. They'll take the next two sessions off and will return to face Switzerland at 8:35 a.m. ET on Sunday.

“We're working really hard to get those seven wins," Mouat said. "Every single team that we've played has been amazing, and we just had to fight for every inch, and that's what curling is."

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“I feel like I’m throwing them exactly how I want to throw them,” an exasperated Thiesse was heard saying on the broadcast of Saturday's loss to South Korea.

The Americans never allowed South Korea to score more than a single point in any end, but they also struggled to generate any offense of their own, and lost for the second time in as many games.

South Korea put the U.S. in a hole early, scoring one in the first and stealing another in the second for a 2-0 lead.

Every time the Americans had a chance at multiple points, they were held to just one. 

In the third, they tried for a double-takeout that would have guaranteed a steal of one, but Thiesse’s shot missed, and instead Korea scored one to go up by two.

Trailing 3-1 with hammer in the fifth, the U.S. was sitting one on the button, but it was surrounded by four red South Korean stones, and the Americans had to settle for just one again.

After using their power play in the seventh, the U.S. went for takeouts on both their penultimate and final stone, and missed both - prompting Thiesse's verbal frustration. Both times the U.S. stones rolled completely out of the house. A chance at two or three instead turned into another stolen point for South Korea, and they led the Americans, 5-2, with one end to play.

The U.S. scored three in the eighth to tie the score, but again they narrowly missed a chance at four which would have given them the win. They instead went into extras with South Korea taking the hammer.

Facing a clear house in the ninth, all the Koreans had to do was place the hammer on the button, and they easily did for the game winning point.

The Koreans outshot the U.S., 86%-79%. 

With the loss, the U.S. falls from the top of the standings to a tie with Italy for second. The Americans (4-2) will next take on Estonia at 8:35 a.m. ET on Sunday.

Saturday was the first win of the tournament for South Korea (1-5), and they will next take on Estonia at 4:05 a.m. ET.

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