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Megan Rapinoe says ‘Olimpico’ corner kick goal was planned

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Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images

Nine years after notching her first Olimpico in the London Games, Megan Rapinoe scored again from the corner flag in Tokyo.

“I meant this one,” said Rapinoe in a post-game interview following the USWNT’s bronze-medal win.

Rapinoe’s 2012 Olimpico may have been a happy accident, but it came at a critical time, equalizing in the team’s Olympic semifinal against Canada.

This time around, Rapinoe’s corner-flag curler was intentional.

“I actually said it to Vlatko and our assistant coach Laura Harvey yesterday. They were saying ‘put it here, this is where we want to go, this is kind of the game plan,’ and I was like ‘well, I might just shoot it.’”

Rapinoe, known for her clutch set-piece delivery, leaves Tokyo with yet another claim to fame.

“I guess I am the only player with two Olimpicos now.”

In fact, she’s the only player with any.