Eva Gaetino hasn’t gone up against Lindsey Horan all that often in her young career, but she’s seen enough of the U.S. women’s national team captain to be impressed.
Ahead of a UEFA Women’s Champions League semifinal between Gaetino’s Paris Saint-Germain and Horan’s Lyon, the 21-year-old highlighted the USWNT veteran as possibly the most important player in the tie.
In quotes published by Goal, Gaetino made it clear that she spent some of her first USWNT camp paying close attention to Horan, and praised the 29-year-old’s all-around game.
“I think even just being in camp with her and being on her team and seeing her strengths, she’s incredible on both sides of the ball,” explained Gaetino. “She’s very dynamic in the attack, very creative, and is also a very good defender. Having to face her higher up the field is exciting for me because I look up to her so much.”
Gaetino ‘excited’ to face Horan, Lyon
Despite going pro before finishing her collegiate eligibility and the big names on the PSG roster, the 5-foot-11 Gaetino has pushed her way into regular starts already. The former Notre Dame captain has started seven games for manager Jocelyn Prêcheur since arriving in the French capital.
That puts her in line to face Lyon in the biggest pair of games in PSG’s season. The Parisians will play the first leg at Lyon’s Groupama Stadium on Saturday, before hosting the second leg at the Parc des Princes on April 28.
Gaetino — who only signed with PSG earlier this year — indicated that she knows full well that PSG faces a really difficult task against Lyon, a perennial Champions League finalist and a side that has more often than not bested PSG in domestic play.
“They have world-class players and even in my [30] minutes against them previously, just the types of crosses that they were hitting and the runners and the timing of their headers, it’s a huge threat,” said Gaetino, whose professional debut came in Division 1 Féminine play against Lyon in February. “I think that’s going to be a huge challenge and I’m excited for it.”
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