Trinity Rodman ‘forgot’ a goal in overtime to send USWNT to Olympic semifinals with 1-0 win over Japan

PARIS — Trinity Rodman led the U.S. women’s national soccer team to the semifinals of the Olympic Games on Saturday after more than 105 minutes of hard work.

A sleepy, somber quarterfinal between the U.S. national team and Japan dragged on into overtime and injury time of the first period.

But then Rodman cut inside her non-dominant left leg and fired a rocket into the top corner.

When later asked to describe the goal, Rodman replied with a shy smile, “You remind me of that?”

She said she “kind of blacked out.” She remembers fullback Crystal Dunn looking for a long diagonal pass. “I honestly think that was the only way we could have scored that game,” Rodman said. She remembers Dunn pinging the ball … “and I just thought, ‘AhhhhhAhhAhh!'” Rodman said, laughing.

On the sidelines, however, head coach Emma Hayes “knew exactly what was going to happen.”

Rodman, in her own words, “hit the ball above 90.”

And she saved the U.S. national team from what even Hayes admitted was the most likely outcome: a penalty kick.

“I think we knew it was going to be something brilliant,” Rodman said.

For 105 minutes, the Americans were neutralized, stopped by a determined Japanese team. They lacked ideas and off-ball movement. They were booed by the crowd here at Parc des Princes.

But Rodman, a 22-year-old star who has found her feet in major tournaments in France, fired up the match and the crowd with her third goal of the Olympics.

The Americans held on to win 1-0, advancing to face either Canada or Germany in Tuesday’s semifinals, and they proved they can win a grind game with less than their best play.

The USWNT had rolled into the quarterfinals looking like their old, high-flying selves. A youthful team had regained its bravado. The rest of the world must have feared that a fallen superpower had been revived by a few smart forwards and Hayes, their brilliant new British coach.

Japan apparently did. The Japanese women are one of the most technical teams in the sport. But they lined up in a mid-low defensive block, in a 5-4-1 formation, and gave possession to the US, apparently afraid of the American press, and what the American front line could do to them in a more open game.

By one measure, the US had more than 80% possession of the ball in the first 20 minutes.

Japan barely got close to the American penalty box. Their counterattacks failed, extinguished by American athleticism. Often they reverted to kicking the ball to safety, rather than trying to play soccer.

Defensively, however, the Japanese were solid. The US was lively but imprecise at first. Hayes and her top assistant, Denise Reddy, stood at the top of their coaching area on the sideline, pointing and gesticulating, trying to find a way through or around the Japanese block.

The first big chance of the game actually fell to Japan. A measured attack down the left and a clever pass to striker Mina Tanaka led to a right-footed shot near the penalty spot. U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher did well to catch the ball.

And two minutes later, the Japanese surged ahead again. A loose ball bounced to Miyabi Moriya, who rushed her half-volley a little and skied it.

Those two chances seemed to rattle the US, and the rest of the half was quiet again. As the US defenders exchanged non-threatening passes, some of the thousands of neutral fans here at the Parc des Princes booed. One of the defenders, Naomi Girma, completed 105 passes in the first half, the most by a player in a full knockout round match at a major tournament since at least 2011, according to Opta.

Japan opened the second half with more momentum. A nice combination on the right saw Crystal Dunn scramble to clear a teasing cross. Emily Sonnett was booked and lost a Japanese break. Meanwhile, the U.S. still seemed lost in possession, out of ideas. In the 66th minute — as in the first half — neutral fans began whistling while the U.S. had possession, their European way of showing disapproval.

The second half then proceeded without incident. The crowd sat silent for a long time. The US looked tired, weary from a lack of lineup rotation in previous games. Yet Hayes made no substitutions until extra time, even when tired legs and minds refused to make off-ball runs. Neither side seemed capable of scoring.

“We tried to get in the seams the whole game, get in between,” Rodman said. “And it didn’t work.”

And so, thankfully, the match ended in overtime.

In extra time, Sophia Smith nearly created a goal out of nothing. She caught a Japanese defender in possession and ran towards goal, free but at a bad angle. However, Japanese keeper Ayaka Yamashita burst off her line to make her biggest save of the game.

Smith was the liveliest player for the US. But Japan stifled attack after attack. Lynn Williams replaced Mallory Swanson after 90 minutes, but the flow of the game did not change.

Then, suddenly, a long ball floated towards Rodman. She pulled it out of the air with a superb first touch. She fired past a defender. And she made the nearly two-hour grind forgettable.

Teammates embraced her at the final whistle as the Japanese players slumped to the grass, broken. They had given it their all and frustrated the U.S. “They’re exceptional,” Hayes said. “Their block is the best in the world, the way they shift, the way they step, the way they read the rotations. They work their asses off.”

When asked if she expected Japan to be so difficult to break into, she replied, “Yes. A million percent.”

She was therefore very happy that her team had finally found a solution.

“It’s not always flashy. And it’s not always what the fans want to see,” Hayes said. “But, this is football.”

“It’s inevitable to play these kinds of games,” Rodman said. “We talk about it a lot: not all football is beautiful football.”