Late surge stuns Canada Jul. 18, 2002. 01:00 AM But coach calls tie with Norway `very satisfying' Norman Da Costa SPORTS REPORTER Advertisement: Two minutes separated the Canadian women's soccer squad from what would have been a historic victory over former World Cup and current Olympic champion Norway. Before a sellout crowd of 4,625 at Etobicoke's Centennial Stadium, Canada saw the visiting Norwegians come from behind on two occasions to force a 2-2 tie in an exhibition game. A victory would have been sweet for Canada's Norwegian-born national coach, Even Pellerud, who has yet to record a win over the team. He coached Norway to the 1995 World Cup. It would also have been Canada's first win over the Scandinavians, who had scored 25 goals and conceded just three in the last five meetings. "It was a very satisfying result," Pellerud said. "The main objective for me was to confirm we have taken a new step in our preparation for the next World Cup, and today we have that confirmation." Norway hammered Canada 9-1 when the teams met last year. Midfielder Andrea Neil put Canada ahead in the ninth minute after cashing in on a free kick. Canada had chances to pad its lead, but Neil and Carmelina Moscato squandered two chances inside three minutes of that goal. The Norwegians tied the game three minutes before the change of ends off a goal from Dagny Mellgren. But skipper Charmaine Hooper, playing in her 83rd international match, scored her 49th goal for her country in the 66th minute, and it appeared as though this would prove the winner. With time winding down, substitute Trine Ronning took what looked like an innocuous shot which was deflected into the net by defender Isabelle Morneau. "I thought we played better and deserved to win the game," Hooper said. "The youngsters on the team all played so well and we can now confidently say we have the depth we did not have previously. "We are thankful for all of the players from the under-19 squad. Especially Candace (Chapman), who does so much of the work in midfield. Give her a bit of time and she will excel at this level." Hooper will travel to play for the Atlanta Beat in the WUSA league Saturday. The following day she gets married to her long-time boyfriend, Chuck Codd, in Atlanta. The Canadian defence was superbly marshalled by Breanna Boyd, Sasha Andrews, Sharlota Nonen and Morneau, who was outstanding. In midfield, Moscato, Neil and Chapman did well to blunt the Norwegian attack and, at the same time, set up plays for strikers Christine Sinclair, Silvana Burtini and Hooper, but they were not given much room to manoeuvre by a quick covering defence. Pellerud said even though Norway was lucky to get the equalizer, it "was a fair result. "The Norwegians did not look as sharp as I expected them to be, but I must say that tactically and technically we played well. "Apart from Hooper, I was happy to see some good performances from Chapman and Neil. In all, I think everything now looks promising for our program."

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