Horan’s late goal pulls US into 1-1 draw with Australia
United States’ Lindsey Horan (9) is hugged by teammate McCall Zerboni after scoring a goal during a women’s international soccer match against Australia, Sunday, July 29, 2018, in East Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — Lindsey Horan scored in the 90th minute to give the United States a 1-1 draw with Australia on Sunday night in the Tournament of Nations.
Horan scored on a bouncing header off a well-placed corner kick from Megan Rapinoe. The tie extended the Americans’ undefeated streak to 18 games.
“I actually thought performance-wise, I thought we played pretty well,” Rapinoe said. “We had a lot of chances, exposed them quite a bit in the wide areas, we were able switch the ball quite a bit. We had some good chances.”
It was Horan’s sixth international goal.
The United States, ranked No. 1 in the world, is gearing up for World Cup qualifying in October. The Americans hope to defend their title next summer at the World Cup in France.
But eighth-ranked Australia, which has already secured a spot in France, struck first when Lisa De Vanna charged the ball upfield before passing off to Chloe Logarzo for a goal in the 22nd minute.
Australia won its tournament opener 3-1 over Brazil. The Matildas, the defending Tournament of Nations champions, beat the United States 1-0 last year.
That was the U.S. team’s last loss. They’ve gone 15-0-3 since.
The result put the U.S. and Australia atop the tournament standings with four points apiece.
“These are the kind of games we’re going to see into qualifying and obviously going in to the World Cup next year,” Rapinoe said. “I mean, I love these games. I wish obviously that we would have won, but (it was) a competitive environment, great stadium tonight. It was a good match for us, good in a lot of ways, good performance and good preparing us going forward.”
Attendance for the match was announced a 21,570.
Earlier Sunday at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field, five-time FIFA World Player of the Year Marta scored in the 76th minute and Beatriz added a goal before the end of regulation for a 2-1 victory for seventh-ranked Brazil against Japan.
Moeno Sakaguchi scored in the third minute of stoppage time for sixth-ranked Japan, which has also secured a spot in the World Cup.
The tournament wraps up on Thursday at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois. Japan faces Australia in the opening match followed by the United States against Brazil.
