SAN DIEGO: On a thrilling, rainy night in the CONCACAF W Gold Cup final, goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher blocked three penalties and scored one herself to help the United States win a shootout after Canada rallied again to draw it 2-2 after extra time.

The Americans placed second and were led by Lindsey Horan, Sophia Smith, and Naeher, who all scored from the spot. After Adriana Leon, Jordyn Huitema, and Jessie Fleming were denied by Naeher, Quinn—who goes by one name—became the just Canadian to score from the spot.

Her kick was blasted past the crossbar by American Korbin Albert.

Canada scored twice in the second half, one from Huitema in the 82nd minute and another from Leon, likewise from the penalty spot, in the 127th.
Smith’s goal in the 99th minute put the U.S. ahead 2-1. Following an excellent pass from American Emily Sonnett, Rose Lavelle outjumped Jade Rose and Vanessa Gilles, two Canadian defenders, and headed the ball toward an open Smith in the penalty box, where it was easily scored.

In the last moments, Canada exerted more pressure, and there was additional drama when Naeher sent Gilles to the pitchside monitor after they both battled a high ball in the area. The Mexican referee, Katia Garcia, was called for the play.

Leon tied the score with a goal past Naeher, her sixth of the competition after Garcia signaled for a penalty.
Thanks to teenager Jaedyn Shaw’s goal in the 20th minute, it had appeared as though Canada’s tournament would conclude in a 1-0 loss on a soggy field at Snapdragon Stadium.

But Huitema saved Canada, heading in an Ashley Lawrence cross following some tenacious work by Leon on the edge of the American penalty area. Huitema scored his 21st goal for Canada in 78 games.

In stoppage time in the second half, the Americans were holding on while the Canadians continued to attack.

It was quite the adventure just to move the ball, especially in the first half. After the half, when the rain stopped, stadium staff used squeegees to lessen the amount of surface water.
But, as the 19-year-old Shaw became the first American woman to score in her first four starts, the damage was already done to Canada.

At the same location on Sunday, the second-ranked Americans will play No. 11 Brazil in the championship match. The winner will receive US$1 million in prize money, while the runner-up will receive US$500,000.

It was a dismal finish to the competition for Canada, rated tenth, on a night when the field occasionally made it difficult for players to perform fundamental skills.

Shaw’s goal was undoubtedly aided by the circumstances. The San Diego Wave teammate Shaw sprang over the startled defender and whacked the ball past Sheridan, the goalkeeper, after Gilles’ attempted back pass to her was blocked halfway.
Shaw scored the first goal Canada gave up throughout the tournament in her eighth appearance for the United States.

After falling to the ground in the 48th minute, it appeared that U.S. defender Tierna Davidson had made touch with the penalty box, as Canada’s captain Jessie Fleming had unsuccessfully requested a penalty.

What level of moisture was it? After just one minute of play, Gilles was squeezing water out of her jersey. The ball was being slowed down or stopped entirely by water pools on the grass ground.

After getting the better of a Canadian defender in the eleventh minute, American striker Trinity Rodman outran the ball when it stopped moving and instead went toward goal. A spray of water rose with every movement.
A CONCACAF representative responded, “It is solely at the referee’s discretion as to whether the field is safe and playable,” when questioned about the choice to play the game in such circumstances.

In the previous semifinal, No. 35 Mexico was defeated 3-0 by Brazil.

After a video review, defender Nicolette Hernandez was sent off in the 30th minute for clearly blocking a clear goal-scoring opportunity after Brazilian forward Bia Zaneratto was fouled on the edge of the penalty box, reducing Mexico to 10 players.
Following victories over No. 104 El Salvador, No. 50 Paraguay, and No. 43 Costa Rica in Houston by a combined score of 13-0, the U.S. was a class above Canada. In the quarterfinal match on Saturday in Los Angeles, Canada, the top seed in the knockout phase, faced eighth-seeded Costa Rica once more and prevailed 1-0 after extra time.

With a 3-0 victory over No. 23 Colombia, the fifth seed, on Sunday, the United States moved up to the fourth spot.

Although the Canadians defeated the Americans 1-0 in the August 2021 Olympic semifinal in Tokyo, their overall record against the United States was 4-53-7 before to this Wednesday. The United States had prevailed 1-0 in the CONCACAF W final in July 2022 and 2-0 in the SheBelieves Cup in February 2023 (during which the Canadians were at odds with Canada Soccer over the impasse over labor negotiations) in their two prior encounters since Tokyo.

Bev Priestman, the coach of Canada, made two changes to her starting lineup: Simi Awujo and Deanne Rose replaced Quinn and Huitema. For the 20-year-old Awujo, who plays collegiately for USC, it was his 14th cap and fourth start.

In the 56th minute, Huitema took the place of Awujo, a Canadian-born Atlantan. Quinn earned cap number 100 as well, coming off the bench.
The United States, who were defeated 2-0 by Mexico in the group stage, is a team changing, and Twila Kilgore is the acting coach. In June, Emma Hayes, who is now in charge of Chelsea in England, will take over.

The first women’s Gold Cup has been a success, and CONCACAF W Gold Cup final describes it as a “multimillion-dollar strategic investment” in women’s football in North and Central America and the Caribbean.

However, the weather on Wednesday effectively put a stop to the tournament.

Each member federation received “six-figure travel and preparation grants” from CONCACAF in addition to “further financial distributions and prize money totaling $3.7 million (U.S.)” to cover the costs of air charter, lodging, and ground transportation.