The US Women's National Team found themselves lucky to escape with a draw as they took on the Netherlands at the Women's World Cup. The two-time defending champions looked characteristically out of sorts in the first half. Head coach Vlatko Andonovski made several bizarre decisions. This included starting the previously uncapped Savannah DeMelo. 17 minutes in and the US found themselves trailing for the first time since the 2011 quarterfinals as Jill Roord put the Dutch ahead.
It wouldn't be until the 62nd minute that the US found an equalizer. Lindsey Horan knocked down a Rose Lavelle corner to tie the game at 1-1. Five minutes later, the US thought they had a winner. However, Alex Morgan's goal was disallowed due to an offside call on Trinity Rodman. Meanwhile, after the game, team hero Lindsey Horan revealed that it was a great sense of anger that led to her vital goal.
Horan Inspired By Heavy Tackle
Moments before Horan's goal, she was brought down by a heavy tackle from her Lyon teammate Danielle Van de Donk. "So that moment, that little tackle -- big tackle -- changed a shift in my head because I want to do everything for my team and to win these games," Horan told reporters. As Lavelle prepared to whip the ball in the box, Horan could be seen arguing with Van de Donk. Horan wenve went as far as giving her a two-handed shove. "Dan is that type of player -- when she's on my team it's incredible because she's going to fight to that last second to win a game or go into that last tackle," Horan said. "That's what she did and unfortunately I didn't take it in a good way. I got a little heated and she got to hear it."
However, there appears to be no bad blood between the pair. They linked up after the game, doing their media availability side-by-side. It wasn't the only run-in Van de Donk had a US player during the match. After colliding with Lavelle in the 94th minute, Van de Donk played out the final few minutes in a swim cap to prevent bleeding from impacting her performance. The result leaves the group wide open, with the US needing at least a draw against Portugal to progress. However, the US could move on with a loss as long as the Netherlands also lost to Vietnam.
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