USWNT overcomes precarious field to edge Canada in W Gold Cup semifinal

In Sunday’s final, the United States will face Brazil, which routed shorthanded Mexico, 3-0.

The Americans and Brazilians will have a hard time topping the U.S.-Canada thriller.

Jaedyn Shaw scored for the Americans in the first half on a play assisted by puddles. Canada’s Jordyn Huitema tied it late in regulation. Sophia Smith scored early in extra time to put the United States ahead, but Adriana Leon converted a penalty kick deep in stoppage time of the extra period after Naeher’s foul.

In the shootout, Naeher stopped three of four shots. Smith, Naeher and Lindsey Horan converted their attempts as the U.S. team missed just once.

Naeher’s performance “just speaks volumes about her mentality and also how these types of experiences that she’s faced over and over again in her career lead to, for the rest of us, absolute confidence in her ability to do these things,” U.S. interim coach Twila Kilgore said.

It was a wild affair on a field marred by standing water in the first half. Although the situation improved after intermission, there was hazardous footing throughout the game.

“It was obvious the game was unplayable but that was out of our control,” Canadian Coach Bev Priestman said. “We played the game in front of us. Both teams had to play in the conditions and it was who could adapt the most.”

U.S. captain Lindsey Horan concurred.

“It’s not a day you can play football and it’s really unfortunate,” she said.

The Americans appeared on their way to the final when Smith scored in the 99th minute.

Emily Sonnett lifted the ball to Rose Lavelle, who, with her back to the goal, beat two opponents to the header. She flicked the ball ahead to the unmarked Smith for a one on one against goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan. Smith calmly slotted a low shot into the right side.

But late in extra time, Naeher was a fraction late trying to punch out a cross and crashed into Canada’s Vanessa Gilles. The ball flew wide of the net. Video replay, though, confirmed a foul, which led to a penalty kick.

Leon converted, sending the match to a shootout.

Smith made her attempt — seven months after she missed in a shootout defeat to Sweden in the World Cup’s round of 16.

“It’s been an emotional ride for me personally since the World Cup,” she said after a tearful celebration. “To miss in the World Cup takes a toll on you mentally and, since then, I’ve just been trying to work my way back.”

The victory also provided a major lift for the U.S. team, which is seeking to regroup with an influx of younger players before the Olympics this summer. In May, Kilgore will yield to Emma Hayes, who is completing her coaching tenure at English club Chelsea.

“This is an Olympic year for us, and sometimes it takes a grind,” Kilgore said. “It takes a mentality, and the fact we can do that in must-win games back to back speaks volumes to be able to stick together.”

The inaugural tournament has featured eight teams from the Concacaf region (North and Central America and the Caribbean) and four guests from South America. For the Americans, the W Gold Cup provided the first test in official international competition since their disappointing performance at the World Cup last summer in Australia and New Zealand.

They lost to Mexico in the W Gold Cup group finale but routed Colombia, 3-0, in the quarterfinals last Sunday.

The semifinal pitted them against their long-standing rivals, who, at the 2021 Olympics, upset the United States in the semifinals.

Skills and tactical preparations were negated by the waterlogged field. Seconds into the match, U.S. forward Trinity Rodman slid headfirst for several yards before getting to her feet, laughing. A Canadian player twisted the bottom of her own jersey to remove water.

The silvery splashes created with every step looked like Nickelodeon special effects.

Puddles were visible on several sections of the field, but the referee and the match commissioner allowed play to continue.

The match got off to a bizarre start. In normal conditions — on a dry field instead of a soggy pitch that made dribbling and passing almost impossible — Gilles’s pass in the 20th minute would have rolled to Sheridan without incident.

But there was nothing normal about the conditions. Torrential rain left standing water on the playing surface, turning common moments into absurd episodes and, in that early moment, interrupting Gilles’s back pass well short of its destination.

The treacherous grass did not slow Shaw, who kept chasing the play and beat Sheridan to the ball for the breakthrough.

Shaw, 19, scored her fourth goal of the tournament, slipping it past Sheridan, her teammate with the NWSL’s San Diego Wave. She became the first U.S. teenager to score in consecutive tournament knockout matches since Kristine Lilly in 1991.

The goal was the first conceded by Canada in five W Gold Cup matches.

On a partial breakaway in the 11th minute, Rodman kept running but the ball refused to follow. Moments later, Alex Morgan got behind the Canadian defense but couldn’t control the ball.

The field conditions in the second half were better, but still far from ideal.

Canada probably should have received a penalty kick shortly after halftime, when U.S. defender Tierna Davidson appeared to step on Jessie Fleming’s foot as the Canadian midfielder pursued the ball just inside the box. There was no call and no stoppage for video review.

The equalizer came in the 82nd minute when substitute Huitema beat Emily Fox to Ashley Lawrence’s cross and directed a seven-yard header into the far side of the net.

It set the stage for a dizzying extra period and a heroic performance by Naeher in the shootout.

“The game is played under all sorts of conditions all over the world,” Kilgore said. “And today our conditions happen to be a ton of rain and standing water on the field — and you have got to find a way to get it done.”