Field of Nightmares: Canada ousted in penalties at Gold Cup on ‘unplayable’ pitch

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Losses for the Canadian women’s team don’t come any more heartbreaking than Wednesday’s defeat in the Concacaf W Gold Cup semifinal against the United States in San Diego. 

The reigning Olympic champions twice showed great resilience to fight back to level the score in very trying conditions, including finding the back of the net in the 127th minute through tournament top scorer Adriana Leon. 

But after the Canadians played the hosts to a 2-2 draw following regulation and extra time, they couldn’t hold their nerve in the subsequent penalty shootout, losing 3-1 to bow out of the competition. While Canada is going home, the U.S. advances to Sunday’s final against Brazil. 

The Americans lead the all-time series against their northern neighbours with 54 wins and seven draws in 65 games dating back to their first meeting in 1986. Canada has never defeated the U.S. in 22 games (21 losses) on American soil.  

Here are three major takeaways from the game. 

Rain-soaked pitch ruined an important semifinal 

“I went to a fight the other night, and a hockey game broke out,” comedian Rodney Dangerfield once famously quipped. 

If Dangerfield was still alive today, he’d no doubt find great comedic inspiration in this semifinal and get off a zinger about how this more closely resembled a water polo match. 

A heavy downpour reduced the pitch at San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium to a swampy quagmire prior to kick off. Common sense should have prevailed. The pitch was clearly unplayable with several big puddles resting on the surface. Rather than postpone the match until the rain stopped — which it did at half time — and allow the grounds crew clear some of the water off the field, the game started on time at 7:15 p.m. local time. 

The result was a first half that quickly descended into pure farce. Players were losing their footing and constantly wringing out their rain-soaked jerseys. Balls that would have been perfectly weighted under normal circumstances were now being held up by the water, as it did with Canadian defender Vanessa Gilles’ back pass to goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan 20 minutes into the contest. American teenager Jaedyn Shaw pounced on what could charitably called a miscue by Gilles, breezing past the Canadian into the box before beating Sheridan with a low drive into the back of the net. 

Even after the rain stopped and the grounds crew got to work during halftime, the pitch still played very heavy, and players were reluctant to get fully stuck in out of a legitimate fear of sustaining an injury. 

It was telling that Mexican referee Katia Garcia twice halted play early in the second half because the communication device she uses to keep in contact with her assistants wasn’t working properly. The lesson from Concacaf in all of this? That optimal conditions for the referees are paramount, but they’re nothing more than a luxury for the players. 

Canadian coach Bev Priestman said she felt the poor field conditions changed the nature of the contest. 

“It’s obvious that the game was unplayable. … We put in a lot of work in a game plan and within [minutes] it’s thrown out the window,” Priestman told reporters after the loss. 

She later added: “I’m not going to make excuses as to was it fair [or] was it unfair. We played the game in front of us. Both teams had to play under the [same] conditions, and it was how could adapt the most” 

Canada showed plenty of heart in defeat 

Jordyn Huitema came off the bench to score Canada’s equalizer in the 82nd, nodding home at the back post after out-jumping an American defender to connect on a picture-perfect cross from Ashley Lawerence. 

It was a just reward for a Canadian team that overcame the elements and a savvy American team that did its best to manage the game and frustrate the Olympic champions with their stalling tactics for most of the second half. 

The U.S. capitalized on another Canadian error at the back in extra time – this one between centre-backs Jade Rose and Vanessa Gilles running into each other as they tried to make a clearance. The ball fell fortuitously to Sophie Smith who made no mistake in slotting her shot past Kailen Sheridan. 

Canada would not go down with a fight, though. A high cross played deep into the penalty area from the right wing hung up in the air. U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher rushed off her line to make a punching clearance, but she whiffed on her attempt and ended up hitting Gilles in the face after the Canadian defender’s header went wide.  

After a VAR review, the referee pointed to the spot and forward Adrian Leon drove a perfect penalty past Naeher with the last kick of extra time to give Canada a lifeline and send the game to a penalty shootout. 

Bev Priestman lauded her team with praise after the game for the fighting spirit it displayed on the night. 

“I’m super, super proud of the group. We’ve lost some critical veteran players who’ve moved on. I’ve seen this group thrive and grow; some immense leadership on the pitch tonight in some testing moments that a young team could have crumbled,” Priestman offered. 

Poor penalties in shootout sink Canadians 

Canada was the picture of poise at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, defeating both Brazil (in the quarterfinals) and Sweden (in the gold medal game) via shootout after 120 minutes of regulation and extra time. 

The Canadians converted seven of their 11 penalties en route to claiming the gold medal, with Jessie Fleming, Julia Grosso and Deanne Rose all holding their nerve and scoring at critical junctures of their respective shootouts. 

Adriana Leon’s confident strike on Wednesday in the 127th minute past U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher was a peach of a penalty and seemed to swing the momentum firmly in the Canadians’ favour going forward. 

But Canada quickly collapsed during the penalty shoutout as Fleming, Leon and Jordyn Huitema saw their very poor attempts stopped. All three Canadian penalty takers tried the same mid-level placement on Naeher, making it much easier for the American shot-stopper to make what turned out to be crucial saves. Only midfielder Quinn’s powerful blast breezed past Naeher, leaving her with no chance. 

Bev Priestman saw things differently and wasn’t inclined to call out her failed penalty takers from the shootout. 

“To be fair, the saves that were made were very, very good,” Priestman stated. 

John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 20 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer. TFC Republic can be found here.

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