The USWNT is through to the Olympic semifinals following a thrilling win over Japan

The United States Women’s National Team players were the sole representatives of the nation in soccer at the Olympics after the USMNT U23 side lost to Morocco 4-0 in the quarterfinals on Friday in Paris. They came into the match with full force and confidence, being the top scorers in the tournament. However, Japan impressed during their group stage performance and had come to play against the USWNT.  

It was not the match that most would have thought as Japan made it extremely hard for them to crack through their split defense. It was not until Trinity Rodman banged in a beautiful left-footed upper 90 shot that made the difference Saturday, which sent them to the semifinals of the Olympics with a 1-0 victory. They will face the winners of Germany, who they already played, for a chance for a spot in the gold medal game that is set to take place on Saturday, August 10.   

As for the NJ/NY Gotham FC players, they are on a great pace to come home with a medal. Each player had some minutes on the pitch, with the exception of the injured Tierna Davidson. They featured three starters for Emma Hayes’ side, with slight changes to the Starting XI.   

Let’s take a look and see how the Gotham FC and the rest of the USWNT did during the game.

How did the Gotham players fair on Saturday?

As mentioned, Davidson continued to be sidelined with a leg contusion. With the team through, she would only have three days to recover before the semifinal clash. Because of her absence, Emily Sonnett returned as the center-back, where she had been very impressive alongside Naomi Girma for the USWNT. She also kept cool while Japan came with full force in the attack, as she helped keep the clean sheet while going the full 120 minutes.  

It was no surprise that Rose Lavelle was back in the Starting XI for the USWNT. She continued to take all the set pieces while being a valued part of the midfield, who were without Sam Coffey due to a yellow card suspension. The Gotham FC midfielder was kept in lock by the Japanese defense, and limited herself to touches for the first time in the tournament. Her set pieces with the national team continued to lack accuracy, failing to connect any of her corners of free kicks in the final third of the pitch.   

Crystal Dunn was also back in her left-back role. Hayes decided to keep her in the role over Jenna Nighswonger again. She did a solid job keeping the Japan wingers in check, though saw some pressure with the opponent getting 13 shots off (one on target). Nevertheless, the veteran continued to be valued on defense, with her calm and composed attitude. She also earned the assist on the lone goal.

Since the match was forced to extra time, Nighswonger came on late in the second half of extra time, replacing her teammate Lavelle to add another defender to prevent Japan from tying it up. She brought on loads of energy, making sprints up and down the pitch as she kept pressure on the defense of Japan, despite coming on as a fifth defender.   

Lynn Williams also came on late in the match. She replaced Mallory Swanson in the No. 9 position. Williams was able to get one shot off, though did not look too comfortable in the striker position with Sophia Smith or Rodman. Her passes failed to connect as she was on a different page than the rest.   

Regardless, the USWNT continued their hunt for their first gold medal since 2012. They should not be too comfortable as Spain is also one of the favorites to win the medal as the number one ranked team in the FIFA rankings. They must play Germany first though as the team looks for redemption following the embarrassing 4-1 loss to the Stars and Stripes in the group stage. 

The semifinals is set to take place on Tuesday, August 6 at 12 PM EST in Lyon, France. Again, this will be a rematch against Germany. The Gotham FC players will try to help the USWNT win again.