Current:Home > InvestU.S. tops Canada in penalty shootout to reach Women's Gold Cup final -InvestPioneer
U.S. tops Canada in penalty shootout to reach Women's Gold Cup final
View
Date:2025-04-12 13:08:39
Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher made three saves and converted a penalty herself in a shootout after a rain-soaked 2-2 draw with Canada on Wednesday night, earning the United States a spot in the CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup final.
The United States advanced 3-1 on penalties and will play Brazil in the title game on Sunday evening. Brazil defeated Mexico 3-0 in the earlier semifinal match.
NOT ONE, NOT TWO, BUT THREE ALYSSA NAEHER SAVES pic.twitter.com/hpMppuKWuw
— Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) March 7, 2024
The game was a sloppy mess with standing water on the field at San Diego's Snapdragon Stadium from heavy rain in San Diego. The players had difficulty with control. Canada's Vanessa Gilles twisted the front of her soaked jersey to squeeze out some of the rainwater.
CBS Sports reported the result could have gone either way with an unplayable surface. The field was already drenched in rain showers from the previous semifinal between Brazil and Mexico. On and off torrential downpours before, between, and during the semifinals left the grass in a soggy state and the ball with nowhere to go.
Afterward, U.S. coach Twila Kilgore was asked whether the game should have been played.
"Probably not. But those decisions aren't my decisions," she said. "If the referees make those decisions, and the game goes on, it's our job to figure out how to win."
Jaedyn Shaw scored in the 20th minute. A Canada defender tried to send the ball back to goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, but it stopped on the waterlogged field and Shaw ran up on it and scored.
Shaw is the first U.S. player to score in each of her first four starts.
Jordyn Huitema tied it up in the 82nd minute with a header that was beyond Naeher's reach.
Sophia Smith of the U.S. broke the stalemate in the 99th, falling to her knees in celebration before she was mobbed by her teammates. But Naeher collided with Gilles in the 120th minute and Canada was awarded a penalty, which Adriana Leon calmly converted to tie the match at 2.
Naeher had two saves to open the shootout, and then converted on a penalty of her own. She stopped Jesse Fleming with a final save to send a jubilant U.S. team to the title match.
"Being able to adjust to any sort of conditions is always a part of it and it takes a certain mentality to do that," Kilgore said. "We did that today and we're not going to shy away from celebrating that because it's not easy."
With Brazil's victory, the United States was denied a match against Mexico, which pulled off the biggest upset of the group stage in downing the United States 2-0. It was just the second time the Americans had lost to their southern neighbors in 43 meetings.
The U.S. rebounded from that loss with a 3-0 victory over Colombia in the quarterfinals. Canada, which scored 13 goals in its group without conceding a goal, got by Costa Rica 1-0 in extra time in its quarterfinal match.
It was the 14th time that the U.S. has faced Canada in the knockout round of a competitive tournament. The U.S. has won 11 of the previous 13 meetings. Canada's lone win came in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics.
It was Canada's first major tournament without captain Christine Sinclair, who retired from the national team last year as soccer's all-time leading goal scorer among men or women with 190 career goals.
Mexico went on to eliminate Paraguay 3-2 in the quarterfinals. Brazil routed Argentina 5-1.
Brazil got goals from Adriana Leal, Antonia and Yasmin, while Mexico was a player down after Nicolette Hernandez was sent off in the 29th minute.
The tournament was the first women's Gold Cup, designed to give teams in the region meaningful competition. Four of the teams that participated - the United States, Canada, Brazil and Colombia - will play in the Paris Olympics.
- In:
- Soccer
veryGood! (1)
Related
- At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
- Former Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader Krystal Anderson dies from sepsis after giving birth
- Sweet 16 schedule has Iowa, Caitlin Clark 'driving through the smoke' with eyes on title
- Christina Ricci Reveals Why She Didn't Initially Bond With Daughter Cleopatra
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Being HIV-positive will no longer automatically disqualify police candidates in Tennessee city
- Media attorney warns advancing bill would create ‘giant loophole’ in Kentucky’s open records law
- Driving along ... and the roadway vanishes beneath you. What’s it like to survive a bridge collapse?
- Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
- What happened to Utah women's basketball team was horrible and also typically American
Ranking
- Alex Murdaugh’s murder appeal cites biased clerk and prejudicial evidence
- Celeb Trainer Gunnar Peterson Shares 4-Year-Old Daughter's Cancer Diagnosis
- Central American and Mexican families mourn the Baltimore bridge collapse missing workers
- Subaru recalls 118,000 vehicles due to airbag issue: Here's which models are affected
- Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
- A solution to the retirement crisis? Americans should work for more years, BlackRock CEO says
- Athletics unfazed by prospect of lame duck season at Oakland Coliseum in 2024
- Man cuffed but not charged after Chiefs’ Super Bowl rally shooting sues congressman over online post
Recommendation
The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
Chiefs Cheer Team Pays Tribute to Former Captain Krystal Anderson After Her Death
Steward Health Care strikes deal to sell its nationwide physician network to Optum
What happened to Utah women's basketball team was horrible and also typically American
The city of Chicago is ordered to pay nearly $80M for a police chase that killed a 10
Nobelist Daniel Kahneman, a pioneer of behavioral economics, is dead at 90
Subaru recalls 118,000 vehicles due to airbag issue: Here's which models are affected
Completion of audit into Arkansas governor’s $19,000 lectern has been pushed back to April