Why everyone is talking about this goal in the US World Cup match against the Netherlands

Lindsey Horan took it upon herself to even the score for the United States women’s national soccer team at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup after a heated moment during the squad’s highly anticipated group stage game against the Netherlands on July 27 in Wellington, New Zealand.

The midfielder and team co-captain scored a goal to propel the U.S. squad to a 1-1 draw in what was a tough, gritty match that featured Horan rallying for the tying goal after she was taken down by the opposing team.

The Dutch jumped out to a 1-0 lead 17 minutes into the contest, but the U.S. roared back in the second half after some physical play.

Dutch midfielder Daniëlle van de Donk took down Horan with a body check. Interestingly, van de Donk and Horan are teammates with the French professional club Lyon.

A referee called the two players over for a spirited conversation to keep everything in line, and, a few seconds after that, U.S. midfielder Rose Lavelle blasted a corner kick that Horan headed into the net to tie up the game in the 62nd minute.

"A lot of the first half we were fighting for the ball. We were running a lot and the momentum wasn't going in our favor, so halftime we made a few switches," Horan told TODAY after the match.

"We changed a little bit. Momentum came and opportunities came with that, so really happy for the goal."

American soccer legend Abby Wambach said with "100%" confidence that it's not hard to connect the dots from van de Donk's tackle to Horan's goal.

"All of us know what it's like to be bullied on the playground, in school, and take that high road. Lindsey took the high road, and so infrequently do we get rewarded right away," she told TODAY on July 27, noting that she also felt van de Donk deserved a yellow card.

Soccer fans couldn't get enough of the thrilling moment.

"Lindsey Horan after that foul #USWNT," someone posted on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, along with a Michael Jordan meme with the text "and I took that personally."

"Lindsey Horan carrying Team USA against Netherlands #USWNT," another person shared, along with a video of someone lifting heavy weights.

"@LindseyHoran FIRES OFF," Olympian Mikaela Shiffrin wrote.

The U.S. and Netherlands are both 1-0-1 in group play, having tallied four points each. This most recent battle was a bit of a grudge match, since the Americans defeated the Dutch, 2-0, in the final of the 2019 Women's World Cup, giving the U.S. its second consecutive title. The team now has its eyes focused on becoming the first squad — men's or women's — to win three straight World Cups.

The top two countries in each group advance to the round of 16. Horan and the rest of the U.S. squad return to action in their final match of group play when they face Portugal on Aug. 1, the same day the Netherlands squares off against Vietnam, whom the U.S. defeated 3-0.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com