The United States women’s national team squeezed past Japan with a stunning Trinity Rodman strike in extra time to reach the Olympic semifinals with a 1-0 victory.
Rodman latched onto a great pass from Crystal Dunn before cutting inside from the right wing and lashing a powerful shot into the top left corner of the Japanese goal at the very end of the first half of the added period.
The USWNT is now guaranteed two attempts at claiming a medal in Paris, but will be desperate to compete in the gold medal match next Saturday.
The first half of the match was a relatively placid affair as both teams struggled to assert authority over proceedings, perhaps understandable given the high stakes of knockout football. The best chance fell to Japan’s Miyabi Moriya in the 36th minute as the ball bounced into her path on the right hand side of the penalty box, only for her strike to balloon harmlessly over Alyssa Naeher’s crossbar.
Japan made a change at half-time as Maika Hamano came on for Kiko Seika, but the game continued in a similar fashion. The U.S.’s star-studded frontline of Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson struggled for service and as a result, exerted very little influence over the game.
Futoshi Ikeda’s team began to grow into the match as the minutes ticked by, with veteran USWNT defender Dunn making several timely interceptions and tackles to stifle the game’s most dangerous attacks.
The crowd became restless at the 70-minute mark, voicing their displeasure as they hoped for more from the slew of world-class talent on the Parc des Princes turf. Rodman had a couple of opportunities to run at her opponents in transition but failed to make the most of either chance, with poor touches seeing both come to a sudden halt.
Regulation ended with little incident, barring a Rodman burst which saw her tackled at the final moment in stoppage time. USWNT coach Emma Hayes stuck to her guns in the extra period, making just one substitution, and it almost paid off instantly as Smith snatched the ball form the Japan defense in the 96th minute, only to be denied well by Ayaka Yamashita.
Rodman’s brilliant intervention arrived soon after, and the sturdy defense of Dunn and Naomi Girma saw the USWNT through to jubilant scenes at the final whistle.
Canada or Germany await in the semifinal, set for Aug.6.
