USWNT barely escapes the Netherlands in dramatic penalty shootout

The USWNT found themselves on the ropes again, needing a dramatic victory in penalty kicks to escape a tough Netherlands team.

The UWSNT had all they could handle from the Netherlands in their first match of the knockout round at the 2021 Olympics. Vivianne Miedema struck first for the Netherlands in the 18th minute but the US answered in rapid succession with goals from Sam Mewis (28′) and Lynn Williams (31′) to seemingly take control. But Miedema evened things up with another goal in the 54th minute. The US then spent the next 36 minutes of regulation cranking wild shots way over the net or having goals called back for obvious offsides. A huge penalty save by goalie Alyssa Naeher in the 81st minute helped keep things even and set up penalty kicks, foreshadowing what was to come.

Naeher started the penalty round with a diving save to the left. After Rose Lavelle, Alex Morgan and Christen Press sank their shots, Naeher came up with another save. Megan Rapinoe sank the clincher and the US celebrated.

The USWNT will advance to take on Canada next with a chance to advance to the gold medal game

The USWNT moved on but, after playing even with the Netherlands and losing to Sweden in their opener, they are looking more vulnerable than they have in past tournaments. Australia and Sweden will play in the other side of the semifinals bracket. Both matches will be held Aug. 2, with the US and Canada beginning at 4:00 a.m. ET. US soccer fans might want to make sure they get a couple of extra naps in this weekend.