The USA’s Trinity Rodman scores the extra-time goal against Japan in quarter-final knockouts.
The quarter-final between the USA and Japan on 3 August saw Rodman make it 1-0 to the USA in extra-time.
The teams looked well-matched in such a toughly fought battle, with turnover after turnover that went way into the 30-minute extra time.
Play was quick, with the ball being driven back and forth between either team’s attacking third.
Neither side, however, could find the back of the net until the 107th minute when Rodman scored the winner off Crystal Dunn’s stellar assist for the USA.
With Sam Coffey out for this match after two yellow cards and Tierna Davidson missing the game due to injury, it was Emily Sonnett and Korbin Albert who came in on defence for the USA.
Jaedyn Shaw was also available to play after being out for injury so far for the duration of the tournament but remained on the bench for this one.
A strong defence
The US back four stood fast while Japan continued to block.
Naomi Girma had a terrific game with, once again, constant touches on the ball, that consistently broke through the line of attack, helping the US to re-solidify possession.
The USA back-line kept Japan out of goal with structural resets from the US third, and solid one-on-ones from Dunn and Emily Fox.
It was this Japanese side, however, that continued to make such tricky tackles and defensive blocks in the box through much of the initial 90 minutes.
Yui Hasegawa’s one-on-ones frequently shut down Mallory Swanson and the midfielder made some significant drives forward and crosses that opened up some big chances for Japan.
Right before Maika Hamano’s shot went wide in the 101st minute, Mina Tanaka created a great chance for Japan but Alyssa Naeher came up big for the US, punching it out of range.
Attacks left unfinished
The US power three of Rodman, Swanson and Sophia Smith, looked relatively lacklustre up until late into the second half, in comparison to their full force in the group stages.
Smith made several attempts at goal but without the structure and build up between these front three needed to complete a neat enough shot.
Lynn Williams came on for Swanson at the start of extra time, making some solid drives that kept the ball alive and helped to re-jig the game for the US during this period.
Moeka Minami, and particularly Saki Kumagai, continued to reclaim the ball in a low block through one-on-one tackles with players like Rodman before they could complete a final drive to goal.
Ultimately, it was Dunn’s touch to the right that Rodman was able to finish beautifully, wrapping the ball around and curling it into the top lefthand corner of goal.
Starting XIs
USA- Naeher (GK); Fox [Krueger 120+1’], Girma, Sonnett, Dunn; Albert; Lavelle [Nighswonger 106’], Horan (C); Rodman, Swanson [Williams 91’], Smith
Japan- Yamashita (GK); Koga [Takahashi 91’], Kumagai (C), Minami; Moriya, Hasegawa [Hayashi 106’], Nagano, Kitagawa [Chiba 106’]; Seike [Hamano 46’], Tanaka [Ueki 70’], Fujino [Miyazawa 80’]
Featured image courtesy of Erik Drost via Flickr. No changes were made to this image. License details found here.
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