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The U.S. women’s team has a message for critics — and it involves a golf clap

Following their 13-0 game against Thailand, the team took a different approach against Chile

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June 17, 2019 at 12:36 p.m. EDT

Adapted from a story by The Washington Post’s Cindy Boren.

With a simple gesture, the U.S. women’s team had a message for critics at their match against Chile on Sunday. After scoring the first goal, Carli Lloyd, along with teammate Lindsey Horan, raised their hands to chin level and offered a genteel golf clap.

That came after the controversy that engulfed the U.S. team after it repeatedly and joyfully celebrated goal after goal after goal in a 13-0 shellacking of Thailand last week.

U.S. women’s soccer sets a record in 13-0 victory over Thailand

“I can’t take credit for it. I’m not sure if Lindsey is taking credit for it,” said Lloyd, after the U.S. clinched a berth in the round of 16 with a dominant 3-0 win over Chile. “She had told me if we score, that’s what we’re going to do, so I just went along with it after I did my little celebration, but it was fun. I think it made a statement on the sideline there. It was cool.”

With that tally, Lloyd became the first player to score a goal in six straight Women’s World Cup games, and she wasn’t done.

In case the point was missed, Lloyd, who is married to golf pro Brian Hollins, repeated the golf clap after scoring her second goal of the match, too.

Message received.

“The whole team is having fun with this,” Alex Morgan admitted.

Horan credited Emily Sonnett with the idea to troll the scolds. “We decided to do something different today,” Horan said. “Handshakes were part of it. Golf clap was part of it.”

Controversy over the 13-0 win

Perhaps that was the best way to send a message after tongues were set wagging over the American players’ celebrations late in the rout against Thailand. That criticism, some argued, demonstrated an uneven playing field for women.

“The backlash to the final score — and the lopsided score itself — is a product of the way we treat women’s sports differently from men’s, Rachel Allison wrote for The Post. “Many of the traits valued in sports are violations of the qualities we expect women to embody. The result is that women athletes face a double standard: People still react negatively when women express the competitiveness and aggression that are routine in men’s sports.”

All eyes are on the U.S. women’s soccer team — and they’re using the World Cup stage to push for equality

Some chalked up the celebrations to the Americans’ exuberance at winning the opener as they began defense of the Cup they won in 2015.

Whatever it was, Lloyd, Horan and the gang displayed a great celebration Sunday, one that didn’t deepen an opponent’s humiliation and one that just might have put the whole controversy to rest.