For the first time since the 2008 Olympics, the U.S. will not be playing in the gold medal match of the women’s water polo tournament.

The Americans were upset by Australia in the semifinals on Thursday, losing 14-13 in penalty shootouts. The two teams were tied, 8-8, at the end of regulation, and went back-and-forth in penalties before the U.S. missed on the sixth shot to give the Australians the win.

Despite the loss, U.S. coach Adam Krikorian said he was incredibly proud of how his team fought and competed.

“We competed our butts off,” he said. “I thought they were pretty sharp defensively. We couldn't score six-on-five goals. I don't know what the final stats were, but that was probably the big difference in the game. As gritty as we were, the Australians were just as gritty with their five-on-six defense. Their shot blocking and their size caused problems for us, and their goalkeeper played fantastic. Congratulations to them. They did a fantastic job."

Thursday was the fifth time in six games the U.S. has held an opponent to single-digit goals. Keeper Ashleigh Johnson had 12 saves.

"She was great. She's fantastic, but at the same time, I think our defense and the people in front of her are underrated,” Krikorian said of Johnson. “I was happy with how we played defensively. We have got to score some more goals, especially with how many power-play opportunities we earned."

Team captain Maggie Steffens agreed the team’s struggles have been on the offensive end. After scoring 10 or more goals in the first four games, the U.S. has scored just five and eight in the last two.

“We struggled to execute our opportunities,” Steffens said. “We were doing a good job of mobility and getting those exclusions, but we struggled to put the ball away… When you don't, when you turn the ball over and don't possess the ball, it's going to be difficult to score. And that's going to give them momentum. 

“Our offense hasn't been great the past two days… So we were just trying to get back to our creative juices and doing what we need to do, being confident and trusting each other.”

With the win, Australia will now play in the gold medal game for the first time since 2000.

The U.S. now looks ahead to the bronze medal game, and even though the hope of a record fourth straight gold is no longer viable, there is still an historic streak to play for. Team USA has medaled in every Olympics since women’s water polo was first competed in 2000.

"This is a new team and we certainly honor the history and the legacy of the program and the players and coaches that have come before us,” Krikorian said. “But at the same time, we've got to regroup, and we're going to. We want to fight for ourselves and for each other more than anything."

Steffens said her team will reflect on their next game and do what they’ve always done: learn and get better.

“We still have one more opportunity,” she said. “We've talked a lot about the finished product not being in bracket play or quarterfinals or finals. We've always talked about the finished product being where we want to be on Aug. 10.

"Unfortunately, that's not for the gold medal, and that's our own doing. Now we've just got to get better and show how resilient we are and show how much better we can be. It's going to be a tough game.”

The U.S. will take on the Netherlands in the bronze medal game at 4:35 a.m. ET on Saturday. It will air on CNBC and stream on NBCOlympics.com.