Sounder Morgan Sends US into Finals with Seconds on the Clock

Canada 3:4 US Women’s National Team

By Kara McDermott

The US led the semi-final showdown with Canada for a total of about 40 seconds, but 40 seconds made all the difference as the Americans squeaked by an epic win against their northern rivals to earn a redemption match in the finals of the Olympics against Japan.

The two teams scored seven goals between them, including a hat trick by Canadian legend Christine Sinclair.

She opened the board in the 23rd minute by an artful and composed play in the box. Melissa Tancredi received the ball with her back to the goal and touched it to the side past defender Rachel Buehler. Sinclair cut the ball to fake and shake Kelley O’Hara and then finish with a clinical touch to the left corner.

This would be the lone goal in the first half, making Canada the first team of the tournament to keep the US scoreless in the first half.

Canada played an aggressive game, giving up several free kicks with physical play, including two in the first minute alone. The message was clear: the team that has been winless against the US for 11 years was not going to be intimidated at this stage.

The tactic was effective. The Maple Leafs penetrated the US defense, driving to the line and looking for opportunities. However, where they lacked was in possession, most of the play was staged at midfield or Canada’s defensive end.

To keep the US at bay, the Canadian defense focused on staying in front of the ball, and indeed, even with the speed of Alex Morgan and craft of Megan Rapinoe, there were very few moments of breakaway offense for the Americans.

Instead, the US looked for goals gleaned from one of their notable strengths: set pieces. In the 54th minute, Rapinoe stepped up to take one of the 12 corner kicks the US would be granted over the course of play. Morgan checked to the ball, sucking out a defender and creating a vacuum at the near post. Rapinoe’s low near post cross turned into a shot as it slid through a mess of legs, including goalkeeper Erin McLeod and American defender Rachel Buehler to draw the US even.

The game momentum seemed to turn towards the southern neighbor, but then the Canadian couple struck again in the 67th minute. Tancredi cut the ball back against sweeper Christie Rampone to open up a lane for her to cross. Sinclair got up for the header and gave her team the lead again.

The US answered quickly. O’Hara took advantage of the cushion of space created by the Canadian side, a consequence of staying in front of Morgan and Wambach, and curved a ball in front of the defensive line from the left to Rapinoe on the opposite side. The outside midfielder took a light touch on the ball to set her right foot as she looked for her target, and then rifled the bar to the far post. That post accommodated the US desires by redirecting the ball into the goal and the rivals were even again in the 70th minute.

But if the US could return in three minutes, so could Canada. Rhian Wilkinson took a corner kick in the 73rd minute and aimed right for Sinclair up from the far post. She headed toward near post, exploiting the hole that Amy LePeilbet created by edging off of her position too soon. The defender attempted a diving header, but she was too late to save the goal.

The US was left scrambling for a goal again. The teams continued to play a physical match and every call was fraught with serious implications.

As the clock neared the last 10 minutes of play, an indirect kick was awarded to the Americans after McLeod was adjudged to have taken too long to play a ball she had collected. Rapinoe stepped to the mark to take the kick. It looked like the shot was merely blocked by a defender, but the referee pointed at the mark to signal the punishment for a handball.

Amid the jostling at the top of the box as the players muscled for position, Wambach stepped to the mark and took advantage of that same friendly left post which once again redirected the low driven shot back into the goal behind a diving McLeod.

This would be her 143rd international goal. With the hat trick by Sinclair, the two strong players, often the anchors of their team, shook hands as equals in goals scored.

The regulation 90 minutes expired and brought up extra time, a back and forth affair of missed chances and collective aneurisms from both groups of fans.

Both coaches were likely taking notes about who their kickers would be for the impending penalty shootout as they neared the end of stoppage time in extra time. But there was still time for one big play with about 30 seconds to go. Wambach dumped a ball to the right outside midway in the US offensive half.

It was heading dangerously towards the touchline, but Heather O’Reilly, subbing out Lauren Cheney in 101st minute, ran it down and swung around to get a first-time cross towards the center of the penalty area. Morgan leaped up and got her head on it, sending it just high of the goalkeeper’s fingers and just low of the crossbar, sealing the victory.

A team that is often known for dominating competition has been taken on a new identity in this tournament as a comeback team, rallying back from a two goal deficit against France in their opening match of group play and now, when it mattered all the more to take them into the final against Japan.

In the words of Wambach, “For some reason, we like to make things dramatic. This team does not give up.”

In the longstanding rivalry of these two teams, Canada effectively wrote the most interesting chapter at Old Trafford with play that was unabashed and unapologetic. However, in the end the US preserved an 11-year unbeaten streak against the northern foes.

Canada will still have a chance to compete for a bronze medal. For a team that has never advanced out of group play, the game today and the chance on Thursday is a tremendous achievement. They will play France at 5:00 a.m. PST and the US will play Japan at 11:45 a.m. PST on Thursday, July 9.

France 1 : 2 Japan

Japan scored two goals off of set pieces to put away France and take their spot in the final of the Olympics. A team has never won the World Cup and the Olympics in back to back years. The US and now Japan are the only teams to make the finals of both tournaments in consecutive years.

Also See:

Cascadia stars as USA Women survive 4-3 OT thriller after trailing three times to Canada – Inland NM Soccer News