The U.S. Wins a Thriller Against Canada

If you weren’t watching the Olympic Women’s Soccer semifinal between the U.S. and Canada this afternoon, you suck. It was one of the most thrilling, well-played soccer matches I have seen in my twenty-plus years as a fan. Both teams played their guts out, with the U.S. scoring the winning goal in the 123rd minute to win 4-3. The U.S. came back from three one-goal deficits with two goals from Megan Rapinoe, a penalty kick from Abby Wambach, and the last-minute header by Alex Morgan. With the exception of Rapinoe’s first goal, a corner kick straight into the goal which Canada woefully misplayed, all of the goals were superbly taken (even Wambach’s penalty kick, which barely beat the Canadian ‘keeper to the left post). It was the kind of game that you hate to see either team lose, but at the same time it did not deserve to go to the farce of penalty kicks. I will be rooting for the Canadians to beat the French in the bronze medal match, and I hope the U.S. can gain revenge against Japan for their loss in the 2011 World Cup final in the gold medal match.