by Ethan Johnson
August 17, 2008

The group stages have ended, which means it's time for the knockout/medal rounds. The USWNT faced Canada on Friday, August 15.

USA signaled their intentions in the early going, with Angela Hucles looking to replicate Heather O'Reilly's early goal from the USA/New Zealand game. Her shot was over the bar, but USA remained aggressive in spite of heavy rain.

USA scored in the 12th minute with a cross in to the box that was tapped in by Hucles. 1-0 USA.

USA remained on the attack, until the game was halted in the 21st minute due to lightning. Brazil/Norway aired during the long intermission, and Brazil advanced to the semifinals 2-1. I fully expect Brazil to make it to the Gold Medal round.

Despite USAs aggressive play after the break, Canada got on the board with a long-distance strike by Sinclair. Hope Solo tried to make the save but missed. 1-1.

Neither team was able to break the deadlock during regulation, even after numerous scoring chances (mostly favoring the USA).

Natasha Kai came on for Heather O'Reilly during the first Extended Time interval, and took a long ball forward from Shannon Boxx and into the net. 2-1 USA.

The closest scare came in the 24th minute of extended time, when a Canadian corner kick got lost in the shuffle in front of goal, and miraculously cleared away by USA. Canada battled valiantly, but ultimately were turned away 2-1.

Team USA had a lot of scoring attempts/chances, but just weren't able to convert. Canada could have taken the game to penalty kicks, and with USA still being a bit shaky after losing Abby Wambach I figure it's a 50-50 chance at that point for either team to advance.

USA faces Japan on Monday, August 18 in the semifinals. Winner advances to the Gold Medal game, whereas the loser contends for Bronze.

Japan is no pushover this year, even with the earlier 1-0 loss to USA. USA has to bring their A-game to have a chance at Gold. <EM>

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