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A crowd of 19,049 gathered at Lower.com Field to watch the U.S. women’s national team take on Canada in the SheBelieves Cup final, but no one wowed the crowd more than Sophia Smith.
Smith, the SheBelieves Cup MVP, scored two goals for the USWNT, but Canada’s Adriana Leon matched that total, resulting in a 2-2 tie and a penalty shootout in the final match. Five penalties apiece weren’t enough to decide this year’s winner, but Emily Fox’s shot gave the United States its seventh SheBelieves Cup with a score of 5-4.
It was a strong start for Canada on penalty kicks, with USWNT goalie Ailussa Neher and Canadian goalie Karen Sheridan blocking Trinity Rodman’s shot on the first two attempts.
Smith converted America’s second penalty kick, putting his team ahead again, and Neher converted the shot. The goalkeeper made three penalty saves, including the final shot by Evelyn Vian.
During over 90 minutes of regulation, which focused on physicality on the field, neither team took an inch. This is the second time this year that a match between these two teams has gone to a penalty shootout.
Both teams came under heavy fire in the first half, but none were more shocking than the collision between Neher and Canadian defender Ashley Lawrence.
The ball, controlled by Lawrence, flew into the air and hit Deanne Rose’s foot, allowing teammate Leon to score in front of the empty goal for a 1-0 lead in the 40th minute.
After 50 minutes, Smith leveled the score with a long-range shot from the top of the box that sailed past Sheridan. Smith scored his second goal of the night 18 minutes later off a pass from Rodman.
The USWNT appeared to be close to winning in regulation until Crystal Dunn committed a foul in the box, setting up a penalty kick. Leon made the score 2-2.
SheBelieves Cup 3rd place match Japan vs Brazil
It was a preview of the 2024 Paris Olympics early in the match between Japan and Brazil on Lower.com. Both teams, who were in the same group for the summer games, set a high bar.
Brazil took third place honors in the SheBelieves Cup, but needed a penalty shootout to do so after ending regulation 1-1.
They conceded the opening goal to Japan’s Mina Tanaka in the 35th minute, but in the second half, Brazilian goalkeeper Lorena took center stage.
In the 66th minute, Lorena was again faced with the task of stopping Tanaka when Japan was awarded a penalty following a foul on Honoka Hayashi in the box. It blocked Tanaka’s attempt and was the first of four penalty saves recorded by the goalkeeper in the match.
After a number of good games, Brazil took the lead in the 71st minute with a header from Cristiane, which was enough to send the match to penalties with the score deadlocked at 1-1.
No matter which direction Japan tried to send penalties, Lorena was there to block all three attempts. And with his teammates taking all the shots, that was all the goalkeeper needed to do to secure his 3-0 victory for Brazil.
bmackay@dispatch.com
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