TOKYO, Japan — UPDATE: The USWNT advanced to the semifinals by beating the Netherlands 4-2 on penalty kicks after the teams played to a 2-2 draw through the original 90 minutes and extra time.
It marks a step farther than they went in the last Olympics, where they were knocked out in a shock by Sweden in the quarterfinals.
The Americans held a 2-1 lead in the second half, but kept it toe-to-toe with a tough Dutch team after they leveled it 2-2 on 54 minutes.
It's been an up-and-down run for the USWNT, but they'll have their chance to reach the gold medal game when they take on Canada in the semifinals on Monday.
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The U.S. Women's National Soccer Team is now at the do-or-die stage of the Olympics, following a nervy group-round stage.
The USWNT will take on the Netherlands in the quarterfinals - the same stage where Sweden shockingly knocked them out of the Olympics in Brazil in 2016 - in a match starting at 7 a.m. early Friday morning.
If you want to catch the action, here's how you can watch the USWNT try to reach the semifinals.
It was not an emphatic entry into the knockout rounds for the USA women, who were shellshocked in their opening game by Sweden, 3-0, and advanced out of their group by way of a 0-0 draw with Australia.
But the good news is none of that carries into the knockout rounds - it's simply a matter of win or go home, and typically in these kinds of tournaments the USWNT is good at winning.
Metro Atlanta native Kelley O'Hara is starting, as she usually does, in defense for the USWNT, while the metro area's other native daughter on the team, Emily Sonnett, will be in reserve.
The Netherlands, meanwhile, present an imposing opponent - they scored 21 goals in just three games in the group round, winning two of their matches and earning a draw in one.
There might be some vulnerability, nonetheless - most of those goals came against Zambia (10-3) and China (8-2). They did put in three against Brazil, in a 3-3 draw, but those eight goals against in only three games suggest there will be cracks for the USWNT to find in the Dutch defense.