The U.S. men’s curling team is one step closer to defending their gold medal from Pyeongchang.
Team USA defeated Denmark 7-5 at the National Aquatics Center on Thursday to book a spot in the semifinals.
The win gave the Americans (5-4) the last automatic berth into the semifinals. If they had lost, Team USA would have needed Italy to defeat Norway to earn an entry. The Italians lost 9-4 on Thursday.
Denmark rushed out with a pair of points, grabbing a 2-0 lead going into the third end. The Americans answered with two points to tie up the game, 2-2. The U.S. would eventually earn a 5-3 advantage heading into the fifth.
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Denmark rallied to collect a point, still trailing 5-3 into the sixth. After a scoreless sixth end, the Americans, in a combined effort, snatched two points to extend the lead 7-3 by the end of the eighth.
Denmark attempted to make a comeback, grabbing two more points in the ninth, still trailing 7-5, but it wasn't enough.
Team Shuster, which consists of John Shuster, Matt Hamilton, John Landsteiner, Christopher Plys and Colin Hufman, will be joined by Great Britain (7-1), Sweden (7-1) and Canada (5-3) in the semifinals.
Shuster, who was the flag bearer for the USA, is a five-time Olympian and two-time medalist, earning a gold medal in 2018 and bronze in 2006. Hamilton and Landsteiner were on Team Shuster's gold-medal team. Plys is the newest addition to the team.
Team USA will play the men's semifinal against Great Britain on Thursday, Feb. 17 at 7:05 a.m. ET at the National Aquatics Center.
