Both the Wallaroos and the USA were left with a numb feeling after a 31-all draw threw their World Cup hopes into chaos.
The two sides couldn't be separated after 80 minutes, with a late Eva Karpani snatching the tie for Australia after they twice led by nine points.
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It leaves both sides relying on each other to an extent to advance to the quarter-finals.
Australia hold the advantage on points difference after their thumping 73-0 win over Samoa and the Americans' heavy defeat to England, with the magic number being 135 - the current difference between the two teams.
With the USA playing first on Saturday against Samoa, they need to win big to bring this number down before the Aussies play England, who will have to either defeat England or manage the margin so their difference stays ahead of the USA.
"After we got off the field, you've had brave faces, and we got in the locker room, you've got some people shedding tears. You've got people who seem happy and positive and things like that. You've got some frustration," USA captain Kate Zackary said, summing up the weird feeling.
"Just a really odd feeling right now. I think on the whole just feeling a little bit flat," Wallaroos coach Jo Yapp added.
"We still managed to get back up there and to score, to bring it back to the draw. So it's in our control now and we need to look forward to next week."
The Americans, needing a big win, know they need to stay focused on securing the win first and foremost before thinking about the calculations.
"I think the biggest thing is not focused on the outcome, it's just on the process," Zackary said.
"We know what we need to do, we know we need to go in, we need to win. Sure, we could start talking about the details of point differential and expectations, but really, what it comes down to is, do we catch passes well? Do we attack at the line? Do we move the ball well in and away from Samoa?
"Because they are a very threatening team, a physical team so how do we meet their physical with our physical and then how do we also open up and find holes?
"That's what we'll be focused on, not the scoreline per se, but just more about the process to get there."
For Australia, the focus is first on taking down the giants in the Red Roses before considering what they need to do margin-wise.
"We need to win, that would be the easiest option, otherwise we need to look at the four and against and we'll be playing our butts off to make sure that we're going into that quarter-final," captain Emily Chancellor added.
