US Soccer
WELLINGTON, NZ (WSAU) — The United States Women’s National Team struggled early but turned in a gritty second-half performance in a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands at the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
US captain Lindsey Horan headed home a 66th-minute goal off a corner kick taken by former Wisconsin Badger Rose Lavelle to tie the game at 1. That came after Horan had a confrontation with Netherlands player Daniëlle van de Donk over a challenge she made against her a few minutes prior.
In an interview with FOX reporter Jenny Taft following the match, Horan admitted that the dust-up stoked her already competitive flames.
Horan and van de Donk both play for the French club Olympique Lyon. The two were seen congratulating each other following the match.
The USA kept the pressure on in the final ten minutes of the game, spending much of that time in the attacking third with several corner kick and set-play opportunities. But crossing proved to be difficult against a compact Dutch defense, and the USA couldn’t find a finishing touch.
USA Manager Vlatko Andonovski made no changes to his starting 11 from the 3-0 win over Vietnam in the tournament opener and made just one out of the allotted five substitutions in the game (Lavelle came on at half-time).
Both the USA and the Dutch are now tied atop the Group E standings on 4 points, with the USA in first place on goal difference. The winner and runner-up from the group will advance to the knockout stage, with all four nations still alive going into the final match day.
The USA wraps up group play early Tuesday morning, August 1st, against Portugal while the Dutch will play Vietnam. Both games will kick off at 2 AM CT.
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