Molinaro
(SLAM! Sports): Canadian women tie U.S. in thriller
by DJT
Saturday, June 30, 2001
Canadian women tie U.S. in
thriller
By JOHN F. MOLINARO -- SLAM! Sports
TORONTO -- The
Canadian National Women's soccer team played their best game in recent memory
this evening and earned some much needed respect in the women's soccer world,
tying the powerful U.S. women's squad 2-2 on a temperate and breezy evening at
Varsity Stadium.
A vocal and electric crowd of 9,023 partisan Canadian
fans helped celebrate Canada Day one day early as the Canadian women put the
memory of a recent, disastrous 10-day exhibition tour of Europe behind them and
put forth a strong, consistent team effort in taking the action to the top
women's side in the world.
Canada had to do without the services of
their captain, midfielder Amy Walsh, for most of the game when the Quebec-native
was taken out of action after 13 minutes of play following a tackle she executed
from behind on a U.S. player. An official for Canada later confirmed that Walsh
had suffered a twisted right ankle and was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital for
x-rays.
Canada gained strength from the premature exit of their captain,
immediately taking the play to the U.S. and creating some dangerous scoring
chances.
Forward Charmaine Hooper put Canada up 1-0 after 14 minutes of
play, collecting her 48th goal in international competition. Hooper gobbled up a
rebound from within five yards of the goal line and drove the ball home past
frozen American goalkeeper Jaime Pagliarulo who had no chance of making a save.
Undeterred, the U.S. rebounded to tie the game in the 28th minute when
midfielder Shannon MacMillan cracked a shot from 27 yards out into the back of
the net. Canadian goalkeeper Taryn Swiatek looked to have the ball safely in her
grasp but it managed to slip right through her hands and slide past the goal
line.
The U.S. came close to making it 2-1 minutes later when MacMillan,
hungry for another goal, sent a blistering shot over the head of Swiatek who
dove and outstretched her hand, tapping the ball off the crossbar and safely out
of harm's way. Swiatek's efforts helped to keep the score tied just when the
Americans seemed destined to take control of the game, making up for her earlier
gaff.
The U.S. eventually took a 2-1 lead in the 57th minute when a
blistering shot off the foot of forward Tiffeny Milbrett traveled close to
thirty yards up and over the hands of Canadian keeper Swiatek and into the back
of the net.
Digging down deep, Canada marched right back down the field
and sustained constant pressure on the American goal before Canadian forward
Christine Sinclair scored with a striking volley from 12 yards out to square the
game at two goals each.
Gaining momentum, Canada nearly took a 3-2 lead
moments later when a Charmaine Hooper free kick in the 64th minute managed to
bend around the American wall and hit the goal post, bouncing safely out of
danger. Four minutes later, forward Christine Latham whispered a shot from 15
yards out just wide of the far post.
The U.S. managed to break Canada's
momentum on the counter-attack, as midfielder Kristine Lilly sent a lovely
through ball up the middle to Milbrett who split the Canadian defence and
carried the ball for a few yards before firing a shot several feet over the
crossbar.
As the climate turned cool and dark, ominous clouds from the
north began to move over the stadium, the U.S. launched a spirited offensive
attack, testing the pace and resolve of the Canadian defence.
Canadian
keeper Swiatek tipped an expertly taken free kick from just outside Canada's
18-yard box from American forward Milbrett just over the crossbar to keep the
game knotted at 2-2 with four minutes remaining.
American forward Cindy
Parlow nearly won the game for the U.S. in extra time when a high cross found
the striker deep inside the box, only to be denied by Swiatek who swiped the
ball out from under Parlow's feet and knocked the ball safely out of play to
preserve a well-earned tie for Canada.
As the final whistle blew after
two minutes of injury time, a joyous Canadian side celebrated their efforts
while soaking up the cheers of an appreciative audience.
"It's sweet.
It's sweet to play a good game on Canadian soil and to show everyone that we are
a decent team," goal scorer Charmaine Hooper told SLAM! Sports after the game.
Hooper was honoured just prior to kick off in an on-field ceremony that
recognized her 78th appearance for Canada, the most by any Canadian woman.
But for Hooper, tonight's game wasn't about personal achievement, but
instead Canada coming together as a team and playing consistent soccer.
"We're trying to be consistent. We had a good game today and that's what
everybody came out to see."
Hooper said Canada were not intimidated by
the mighty and powerful Americans and thought her team could have easily won the
game if not for her free kick that hit the post.
"That was a
heartbreaker because it's going to be played over in my head all night. Had I
scared that, that was the game winner right there."
After going 0-4 on
an exhibition tour of Europe earlier this month that saw the Canadians get
outscored 26-4, Hooper was thrilled with the two goals and all the quality
scoring chances that Canada was able to produce against the Americans.
"In the past we never really had that many offensive attacks and I think
our team is really growing. We have some young forwards that are becoming more
of a scoring threat than I am. We're much stronger offensively than we have been
in the past."
Head Coach Even Pellerud was impressed with Canada's
performance, but cautioned there is room for improvement.
"I'm very
happy. Both the result and the performance was first class so I'm happy," said
Pellerud. "We weren't intimidated by them. I think the problem we have or the
challenge we have is that we can't perform at this level consistently. The U.S.
has been doing this for 15 years while we have not. We need to increase our
intensity level and improve our game."
NOTES: Canada is now 3-2-22
lifetime against the U.S. With this evening's tie, the Canadian women extend
their unbeaten streak over the U.S. to four games with two wins and two ties.
Canada also managed to snap a five-game losing streak that dated back to March
17th, 2001... Canada's all-time record in international play is now 35-10-65...
Canada next travels to Blaine, Minnesota to take on the U.S. in the second half
of this home and away series on July 3rd... This was the first home game for the
Canadian women since a 2-0 win over Australia on June 12th, 1999 in Toronto...
U.S. captain Julie Foudy earned her 200th cap tonight, joining Mia Hamm and
Kristine Lilly as the only U.S. women to reach that milestone... The U.S. team
managed to infuriate the media covering tonight's game. Unlike their Canadian
counterparts who showered at the stadium and made themselves available for
interviews, the U.S. left promptly after the game and retreated to their hotel
in downtown Toronto without talking to reporters.
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