After 90 scoreless minutes of play and fruitless attempts by both sides to find the back of the net in stoppage time, it was the U.S. women’s national team that won Saturday’s quarterfinal clash against Japan, 1-0, in extra time as stars from Mia Hamm to Snoop Dogg watched from the stands at Paris’ famed Parc des Princes.
The victory comes 12 years after the last Olympic meeting between the two foes which came in the gold medal match in London in 2012, which the Americans won 2-1.
While new head coach Emma Hayes has preached patience during her short tenure leading the squad, the U.S. seemed to struggle to strike a balance between picking their moments and playing a bit too predictably and without sufficient urgency against a talented Japanese team. As commentator and former USWNT star Julie Foudy put it during the broadcast, the team seemed “a little sluggish.”
It was 22-year-old Trinity Rodman who eventually provided the spark Team USA needed to advance, scoring a beautiful goal almost halfway through extra time to secure the win. It was her third goal in four Olympic matches so far in France, her first Olympic Games, but arguably the one the team needed the most after 105 scoreless minutes of a must-win clash in the knockout round. It was a tiring test for the USWNT on the heels of a dominant showing in the group stage that included wins in all three matches for the first time since 2012 and a program-record nine goals.
Rodman, who has proven to be a key piece of the equation for the USWNT on attack this tournament after scoring just two times in her last 17 appearances before the Olympics, found the net with tired legs after having started Saturday’s match as part of Hayes’ preferred lineup.
The U.S. coach’s game plan for Japan featured just one switch from the team’s last group stage match against Australia, with midfielder Korbin Albert taking Sam Coffey’s starting slot. The change was a necessary one as Coffey was suspended for accumulating two yellow cards in group play. That left Team USA with only 17 players on their quarterfinal gameday roster. Despite just two days of rest between matches, Hayes did not make a single substitution until the team took the pitch for extra time, swapping Lynn Williams in for a waning Mallory Swanson up front.
Going into Saturday’s quarterfinal clash, Swanson led the U.S. squad with three goals and one assist so far in this tournament, followed by two of each for fellow forward Sophia Smith and a pair of goals and one assist for Trinity Rodman, who leveled her goal tally with Swanson’s in Saturday’s win. Williams and Albert are responsible for the team’s other two goals this tournament so far.
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The first 90 minutes of play were relatively quiet on all fronts, with Japan finding a few bursts of momentum broken up by Naomi Girma on the backline and the U.S. making a last ditch push of its own in the final minutes of stoppage time but neither able to capitalize. An early open look in extra time for Smith was blocked; the two teams again deadlocked until Rodman’s goal, which was assisted by USWNT veteran Crystal Dunn.
Looking for an insurance goal to seal the win, Rodman, Williams and Smith continued to put pressure on Japan’s defense through the final minutes of the extended match. Japan scrambled to even the score but it was the young American star’s lone goal on the board as the clock ran out. It was a gritty match but just enough to send Team USA to the semifinals.
The team will now face the winner of Saturday’s Canada-Germany quarterfinal match in Lyon on Tuesday. The biggest question remains who will Hayes play for Team USA as they contend for an Olympic medal. With her starters looking tired even before the extra time on Saturday, the coach’s decision will be one between the risk of playing a starting line with little rest over one with some fresh legs but perhaps less chemistry. There will also be eyes on the status of defender Emily Fox, who left the field near the end of extra time with an injury, which would be a particularly devastating blow to a backline that is already without star defender Tierna Davidson.
