- The US Women's National Team survived penalty kicks vs the Netherlands to advance at the
Olympics . - Striker
Lynn Williams earned a surprise start in the quarterfinal and shined with a goal and assist. - Williams overcame a 2019 World Cup snub and alternate status for Tokyo en route to Friday's heroics.
The US Women's National Team survived a dramatic back-and-forth affair against the Netherlands - which included 30 minutes of overtime and penalty kicks - to keep its dream of Olympic gold alive.
But the reigning World Cup champions couldn't have made it that far without the heroics of Lynn Williams, a player whose extremely unorthodox path to
The 28-year-old striker earned a surprise start in Friday's quarterfinal and took full advantage of the opportunity. She helped the
-#TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) July 30, 2021
Just three minutes later, Williams found the back of the net herself to notch her first Olympic goal in her first Olympic start. She headed a 50:50 ball towards Mewis, who delivered a dribbling pass back to her in the box.
Williams took one touch to blast the ball through traffic, across the goal, and past 2019 World Cup Golden Glove winner Sari Van Veenendaal to give the USWNT its first lead of the contest.
-#TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) July 30, 2021
It's something of a fluke that Williams' services were available to USWNT head coach Vlatko Andnovski for Friday's matchup. Despite spending most of the past year on the national team roster, the lightning-fast North Carolina Courage star wasn't one of the 18 players Andnovski initially named to his squad for Tokyo.
Williams was instead included as one of the team's four alternates, leaving her eligible to fill a vacant position if one of the 18 active roster players suffered an injury and needed a replacement. But the International Olympic Committee loosened its stringent restrictions ahead of the games, allowing women's teams to expand their rosters to 22 players for Tokyo and giving Williams a chance to play.
At long last, Williams got her shot at a major international tournament. A few years back, she narrowly missed making Jill Ellis' USWNT squad that won the 2019 World Cup. Had the IOC's roster rules not changed, she'd still be seeking that opportunity to play on the world's stage.
Instead, she became one of the USWNT's heroes of the day.
Thanks in large part to Williams' efforts, the USWNT is moving on in the Olympic tournament. They'll kickoff their semifinal match with their eye on making history; they could become the first team to earn gold directly after winning the World Cup.
The USWNT takes its next step on its journey to the podium on Monday at 4 a.m. ET, when they kick off against a familiar foe in Canada. And while it's unclear which 18 players will be activated for the grudge match against the Americans' neighbors to the North, Williams has certainly made as compelling a case as anyone.