USWNT outlasts Canada on CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Final

Lindsey Horan, middle, socred the USWNT’s second goal in the match against Canada on Sunday.

It took a little longer to materialize, but the end result was still the same.

In a match that featured two teams that had kept its opponent out of the back net throughout the tournament, it was once again the USA that had the persistence and stamina to outlast its opponent. The US finally broke through the Canada defense, then asserted themselves as they always seem to do. Goals from Lynn Williams, Lindsey Horan and Megan Rapinoe enabled the USWNT captured the CONCACAF women’s Olympic qualifying tournament with a 3-0 win over Canada in the final at Dignity Health Sports Park.

“We like to come out and hit teams hard,” Rapinoe said. “To come out in the second half and get that goal from Lynn (Williams), scoring first, it always gives us confidence where we can step up a little bit more.”

The win caps off another dominant run for the USWNT in a CONCACAF competition. With a berth in the Tokyo Olympics long secured, the USWNT can set their sights on Olympic gold, which if achieved would make them the first nation to win the Women’s World Cup and the Olympic Gold Medal in succession.

After a scoreless 61 minutes the USWNT finally broke through. Lynn Williams capitalized on a giveaway by Jayde Riviere inside the Canadian penalty area, Williams took the ball and fired a shot that beat keeper Stephanie Labbe far post to finally get the US on top.

“It’s no different than playing any other team” Julie Ertz said of scoring the first goal against Canada’s defense. “We want to be the first to score all the time, so there’s no mindset change regardless of the opponent.”

The USA blew the game open from that point on. The US doubled the lead in the 71st minute, as Samantha Mewis crossed a ball to Williams inside the box, Williams then headed a ball to Lindsey Horan, who then took the shot that snuck past Labbe at the far post to make it a two-goal game. The USA put the finishing touches on the match in the 87th minute, as Williams led a USA break, played a perfectly weighted ball to Megan Rapinoe, who fired the left-footed shot in the penalty area past Labbe into the back net, then broke out her customary goal celebration in which she threw her hands high in the air.

Sunday’s match not only featured CONCACAF’s two powers in women’s soccer, but also two teams that featured stingy defenses in the tournament t, as neither team had given up a goal in the qualifying tournament. After the first 30 minutes however, the game started to open up for both sides. Canada had the first chance in the 32nd minute, as Jesse Fleming got behind the US backline and sprinted for goal, but her shot was saved by keeper Alyssa Naeher. The USA’s Christen Press however had the best chance for either side in the 33rd minute, as she fired a right-footed volley from about 25 yards out, which beat Labbe, but did not beat the framework, as the ball hit off the crossbar and went back into play.

Both teams continued to keep the pressure up the remainder of the half. For the US, Jessica McDonald took advantage of a giveaway by Labbe and played a ball to Press, who saw Labbe off her line and tried to take advantage of the open net, but was perhaps a little too eager to finish the job, as her shot went over goal. Christine Sinclair got behind the US defense for a breakaway on goal in the 38th minute, but her shot inside the US penalty area was stopped by Naeher.

“Throughout the whole game, they were very organized, very disciplined,” USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski said. “If they sit back, it will be really hard to break them, in the first half, we were not patient enough and not sharp enough.”