The U.S. and Canada didn’t just take on each other Wednesday at Snapdragon Stadium for the semifinals of the Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup.
The elements were a factor as a storm barreled down on San Diego pretty much right at game time and did not let up. But the U.S. overcame both the sloppy field conditions and Canada to win on a shootout after a 2-2 draw and move on to Sunday’s final.
The U.S. takes on Brazil at 5:15 p.m. Sunday. Brazil easily made it past Mexico 3-0 in the first (far drier) game at Snapdragon.
The U.S. led for most of the match thanks to a goal by Jaedyn Shaw in the 20th minute. But Canada tied it up in the 82nd minute with a shot by Jordyn Huitema.
Sophia Smith answered in extra time off an assist by Rose Lavelle to give the U.S. a 2-1 lead.
But Canada, awarded a late penalty kick, relied on Adriana Leon to tie it up. Goalie Alyssa Naeher, responsible for the contact that led to the penalty, made up for it with three saves and one of the penalty kicks as the U.S. prevailed.
The starting lineup for the U.S. is the same as the lineup that started against Colombia in the quarterfinal, marking the first time in the tournament that the team used the same starting lineup in back-to-back games.
Shaw’s goal was her team-leading fourth of the tournament and she became the first player in USWNT history to score in each of her first four starts.
Shaw, Naomi Girma and Alex Morgan, from San Diego Wave FC, started for Team USA. Abby Dahlkemper also is on the roster, but did not play Wednesday.
