Rapinoe’s penalty kick gives U.S. draw; win streak ends

The United States’ 16match winning streak was snapped in a 11 draw with Sweden in Stockholm on Saturday in Carli Lloyd’s 300th national team appearance.

Lina Hurtig put Sweden ahead off a set piece in the 38th minute. Megan Rapinoe’s penalty kick pulled the U.S. even in the 87th.

The draw extended the U.S. team’s unbeaten streak to 38 games. Rapinoe’s goal was her sixth this year to lead the team.

Rapinoe said the scare from the Swedes will help the United States as it prepares for the Olympics this summer.

“Even throughout the whole game, I was kind of thinking, ‘This is exactly what we need.’ We didn’t play well. We were very sloppy. Tactically we needed to be a lot better, and just individually,” she said. “But those are the games where you kind of have to dig in.”

The Americans have not lost since January 2019, when they fell to France. Their 16game winning streak was the third longest in team history. The U.S. now travels to Le Havre for a match against No. 3 France on Tuesday.

Lloyd wore the captain’s armband for her milestone game. The only other players to appear in 300 or more games for the national team are Kristine Lilly (354) and Christie Pearce Rampone (311).

In European highlights, U.S. men’s national team forward Christian Pulisic scored twice for Chelsea in a 41 win at Crystal Palace, while English Premier League leader Manchester City took a rare loss, 21 at home to Leeds . ... Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos scored firsthalf goals and Real Madrid defeated Barcelona 21 to return to the top of the Spanish League.

Swimming: Stanford graduate Katie Ledecky won the 400meter freestyle at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Mission Viejo (Orange County) with the world’s fastest time this year, 3 minutes, 59.25 seconds in the outdoor pool.

The defending Olympic champion added the 400 free title to the 200 free she won a day earlier, also with the fastest time in the world this year.

Horse racing: Irish rider Rachael Blackmore became the first female jockey to win Britain’s grueling Grand National horse race, breaking down one of the biggest gender barriers in sports.

Blackmore, 31, rode Minella Times to a landmark victory at odds of 111 in the 173rd edition of the steeplechase at Aintree in Liverpool, England. She was the 20th female jockey to compete since 1975, when women were first allowed to enter.

Motor sports: Denny Hamlin was leading the NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville, Va., when rain forced postponement of the race after 42 of a scheduled 500 laps. The race will resume Sunday at 1 p.m. PDT.