Associated Press
Megan Rapinoe converted the deciding penalty in a shootout and the United States advanced to the semifinals of the women’s Olympic soccer tournament 4-2 following a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands on Friday.
United States goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher stopped Vivianne Meidema’s opening attempt in the shootout. She then saved a shot from Aniek Nouwen before Rapinoe put her penalty away.
After Rapinoe scored, she turned to her teammates, folded her arms and grinned in triumph.
Meidema scored a pair of goals in regulation time for the Netherlands, giving her 10 goals for the tournament — an Olympic record.
Miedema put the Netherlands ahead in the 18th minute but the Americans equalized when Sam Mewis headed in a goal off a feed from Lynn Williams in the 28th. Williams then gave the Americans the lead in the 31st.
Meidema, who was playing in her 100th game for the Netherlands, made it 2-2 in the 54th.
The United States will next face Canada, which advanced to the semifinals 4-3 on penalties after a scoreless draw with Brazil in Rifu.
The United States, which is vying for its fifth overall gold medal at these Olympics, lost 3-0 in the opener to Sweden, snapping a 44-match unbeaten streak. The Americans have been shutout in two games in Japan — the last time they hadn’t scored in a game was in 2017.
“This tournament is really tough with the amount of games that you need to play without as many days in between as other tournaments. And so I think with that, there has to be tactical sophistication in how we manage,” said Christen Press. “Ultimately, when the team is at its best, we are relentless and we are lethal. And even in the game against Australia, we could have been on the counter more and we could have put away some chances and would have felt really different about that.”
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Republished with permission from The Associated Press.
