U.S. Women's Soccer Team Advances to Olympic Semifinals After Close Win Against the Netherlands

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The U.S. women's national soccer team's quarterfinals match against the Netherlands was a real nail-biter.

Shortly after the Netherlands got on the board during the first half, the USWNT came back to even the score 1-1, thanks to Samantha Mewis. Just minutes later, Team USA's Lynn Williams scored another goal for the team, putting them up 2-1 going into halftime.

However, the score eventually got tied up again 2-2 — and remained that way for the rest of the second half.

The teams headed into extra time, with a series of missed opportunities and epic saves taking place, including late goals by Christen Press and Alex Morgan, which were both negated by offside flags.

As neither team was able to deliver a decisive blow, the tense game went into penalty kicks.

The Netherlands went first, and while their first attempt was blocked, they made their second and third. Meanwhile, Rose Lavelle knocked in the first shot for the USWNT, followed by two more perfect kicks by Morgan and Press.

The Netherlands went on to miss their fourth kick, with Megan Rapinoe scoring another penalty kick to bring the team through to the next round — and guarantee them a shot at playing for a medal.

RELATED: U.S. Women's Soccer Heads to Olympic Quarterfinals after Scoreless Match Against Australia

The USWNT came into the quarterfinals following a scoreless game against Australia, ​​marking just the second time they went without a goal since July 27, 2017.

Tuesday's draw meant the USWNT finished in second place within Group G. The U.S. had hoped to win Group G and secure top seeding for the knockout rounds, but had a disappointing loss to rival Sweden in their first match of the Olympics.

The U.S. will take on Canada in their semifinal match on Monday. Australia and Sweden have also advanced to the semifinals.

To learn more about Team USA, visit TeamUSA.org. Watch the Tokyo Olympics now on NBC.