The United States’ women’s rugby team made history on Monday against Great Britain, capturing a 17-7 victory and keeping their hopes of winning their first ever medal in the sport alive.
The game was especially sweet for the U.S. as it gave them revenge after a quarterfinal loss to Great Britain in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, which the British won 21-12.
More importantly, the win also ensures that the Americans will appear in the medal round of women’s rugby sevens for the first time ever, leaving players stunned and jubilant on the pitch following the contest.
The U.S., who trailed early in the game, scored a critical try just seconds into the second half, with Kristi Kirshe scoring to give the Americans a 10-7 lead. Kayla Canett converted the goal to give the American squad a 12-7 lead.
Just three minutes later the Americans scored again, this time with Sammy Sullivan doing the honors to extend that advantage to 17-7.
That ultimately is where things ended, as the British squad couldn’t overcome a tough American defensive effort in a U.S. victory.
The U.S. squad will have a very tough semifinal ahead, as they’ll take on a New Zealand squad that dismantled China by a score of 55-5 in the quarterfinals. The sides will do battle at 8:30 a.m. CT on Tuesday in Paris, with the championship game set for 12:45 p.m. CT.
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