U.S. women’s soccer team will play for gold after 1-0 extra-time win against Germany

The U.S. women’s national soccer team continued its undefeated streak at this year’s Olympics with a 1-0 win against Germany on Tuesday to advance into the gold medal match on Saturday.

The American team has not lost to Germany in an international tournament for two straight decades. But this was a much tougher game for the U.S. squad than just a week earlier when the women clobbered the European team in a 4-1 game in the group stage.

Germany’s hunger for national glory was on full display on the pitch as the team forced the Americans into a much more chaotic game. Under coach Emma Hayes, the U.S. squad has been leading an aggressive but controlled offense that has found them overall success at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

But the Europeans played a confrontational game, raking up fouls as the Germans remained on the attack to obstruct opportunities from young American forwards Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson. At one point a rough, but legal, tackle in the second half left Rodman on the ground for several minutes as onlookers feared an injury.  

Germany appeared ready for the forwards, who have led the team in goals so far, because the trio was constantly outnumbered and blocked as they tried to set up scoring plays. 

Hayes layered the offense with experience in her starting line. This meant that team veterans Rose Lavelle, Lindsay Horan and Crystal Dunn took on more of a role than in prior games when the young forwards were able to find space to score. 

Dunn blocked several German attempts at the U.S. goal while Lavelle and Horan found multiple opportunities at the opposing net. 

It was a scoreless game at the end of regulation, forcing the game into another 30 minutes of extra time. 

Smith and Swanson finally broke through five minutes into extra time to score, Swanson assisting Smith in her third goal of the Olympics. 

Rodman 22, along with Smith, 23, and Swanson, 26, have been a defining feature of this new era of the U.S. women’s national team so far. Each have scored three of Team USA’s 11 goals so far and have been involved in 10 of those scoring plays in these Olympic matches.

Fans and game analysts have tried to give the trio a variety of names, starting with “The Big Three” but seemingly landing on the “Trident.”