The United States splashed past Canada on Wednesday night in a game that will be remembered as much for the deluged pitch as the heroics of goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher.
She saved three penalty kicks and scored one of her own in the shootout to send the stars and stripes into the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup final.
The match ended 2-2 after extra time and was more notable for the weather than the quality of play: Heavy rain and a clearly waterlogged field made conditions difficult for both teams, with sprays of water accompanying every tackle.
Passes slowed to a trickle as the ball made its way through pools of standing water at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego.
Many watching in America and around the world commented that in many national leagues the game would not be played in such conditions. Several people on social media joked that it was closer to water polo than soccer.
Stuart Holden, a former professional player in the U.S. and England who is now a pundit for Fox Sports, said the situation was “dangerous” for the players.
Asked whether the game should have been played at all, U.S. head coach Twila Kilgore said in a news conference: “Probably not. But those decisions aren’t my decisions. If the referees make those decisions, and the game goes on, it’s our job to figure out how to win.”
And the U.S. did, eventually.
The U.S. opened the scoring in the 20th minute by taking advantage of the wet conditions. A Canadian player attempted to pass the ball back to her goalkeeper — but the ball held up well short and U.S. attacker Jaedyn Shaw pounced and slotted home to make it 1-0.
The conditions continued to hamper both teams, but Canada tied the game with a header in the 82nd minute. The U.S. took the lead again in extra time, only for Naeher to concede a late penalty that allowed Canada to take it to a shootout.
But Naeher more than made amends to send the U.S. through.
Kilgore said after the game that “being able to adjust to any sort of conditions is always a part of it and it takes a certain mentality to do that.” She added: “We did that today and we’re not going to shy away from celebrating that because it’s not easy.”
The U.S. will now appear in Sunday’s final against Brazil, which beat Mexico 3-0 on Wednesday.
