I'm not sure what it is about them but the U.S. women's national team seems to love drama, in a good way of course. There have never been penalty kicks in the Olympics (for a women's game) but the U.S. (5-0-0) and Canada (2-2-1) looked set for that ultimate crapshoot as they were tied 3-3 this afternoon at Old Trafford (home of Manchester United) in the semifinals.
A moment of brilliance from substitute Heather O'Reilly (who entered in the 101st minute) and Alex Morgan saved the Americans from the format that haunted them last summer (see: 2011 Women's World Cup Final vs. Japan). The U.S. survived 4-3 and move on to the Gold Medal game on Thursday afternoon (2:45 p.m. ET, NBC Sports) at Wembley Stadium and a rematch vs. Japan. It is the fifth straight Olympics Final for the Red, White and Blue and they are the two-time defending champions.
In the 122nd minute, O'Reilly whipped a cross into the box and Morgan-who's not tall or particularly deadly in the air-was still able to rise up over her defender and head it over Canada's goalkeeper Erin McLeod. It was an incredible strike in literally the last seconds that was eerily reminiscent of Abby Wambach's goal vs. Brazil last summer in the World Cup quarterfinals.
By far their most dangerous player for the U.S. was midfielder Megan Rapinoe, who had a pair of goals in the second half. Wambach scored on a penalty kick that followed a handball by Canada on a shot by Rapinoe. Wherever she was on the field, she made things happen and that included being a wizard on the ball.
Canada probably deserved better as Christine Sinclair scored a hat trick (1st against the U.S. in 11 years) but her team managed to blow a halftime lead of 1-0, not to mention 2-1 and 3-2 advantages in the second half. The first 45 minutes weren't particularly thrilling but the second half plus extra time made this truly one of the craziest soccer matches (men's or women's, any level) that I've ever witnessed.
The U.S. defense which couldn't mark Sinclair all day had a collectively terrible performance yet they still found a win to get by Canada. Her first goal was the result of a wonderful buildup from her teammates. Marie-Eve Nault's through ball hit Melissa Tancredi who found Sinclair. She twisted Kelley O'Hara around before finishing past Hope Solo in the 22nd minute.
It was the first time Canada had led the U.S. since 2003. That goal didn't really wake up the U.S. until halftime although Morgan had a header go just wide in the 32nd minute off a free kick. Wambach tried a diving header in the 38th minute but that too skipped wide.
Rapinoe-a college teammate of Sinclair at the University of Portland (Oregon)-tied it in the 54th minute on a play that is extremely rare in soccer outside of the youth level. She bent a corner kick past McLeod, a Canadian defender had a slight touch on it but the ball had already crossed the line by then. Little did we know that would start a flurry of five goals in 26 minutes.
Sinclair went to work and answered with a header of her own off a cross in the 67th minute. Canada was up 2-1 for all of three minutes as Rapinoe scored an absolute highlight reel goal (her 3rd of the tournament) in the 70th minute. She was at the top of the box and her right-footed shot hit the far post and bounced into the other side. Unreal.
The U.S. could never figure out a way to stop Sinclair as she got her hat trick in the 73rd minute, off another header but this time from a corner kick. The good news was that the Americans had one more improbable rally left in their cleats.
After a bizarre six second call on McLeod, the refs topped that with a shaky penalty on a handball that appeared to hit a prone arm or hand that was against a Canadian's body. Whatever the case, Wambach stepped up and calmly tied it up in the 80th minute (her 143rd international goal, ironically tying Sinclair).
Both squads had great chances to end it in regulation but Wambach missed a tap-in following a pass from Morgan. Solo stepped up with her biggest save of the Olympics as she stuffed Canada after a terrible giveaway by the frazzled U.S. backline.
Sydney Leroux entered in the 76th minute and she had two decent chances. Her header went over at the end of regulation and in the first overtime, she was first to a 50-50 ball but sent it high of the mark.
The U.S. had never lost in the Olympic semifinals and were 5-1 in Olympic extra-time games. O'Reilly's hustle (thanks to her fresh legs) basically made something out of nothing and I'm not sure how Morgan had that much energy to score her first goal since the opening match vs. France. It was a play that we will be seeing for a long time, particularly if the U.S. captures the Gold Medal.
Japan held on for a 2-1 win vs. France in the first semifinal this afternoon. They were up 2-0 and were able to withstand some serious pressure from the French in the late going. The great thing about this match on Thursday is that it pits without question the top two women's teams in the world. The crazy part is that they have so much recent history which has helped mold this into the best rivalry in the game.
Japan beat the U.S. 1-0 on March 5 in Portugal; the U.S. tied them 1-1 in Japan on April Fool's Day and most impressively, they rolled 4-1 against the Japanese on June 18 in Sweden. I think that final result is an anomaly and I can basically guarantee that the Gold Medal match will be a one-goal game. These teams are so evenly matched, let's just hope that it doesn't go to penalty kicks since Japan would have the mental edge there after they beat the U.S. in them last July.
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