A storied rivalry faced off once again in the semifinals of the Tokyo 2020 women’s soccer tournament. Both sides involved Dash players, as midfielder Kristie Mewis and goalkeeper Jane Campbell faced off against forward Nichelle Prince, midfielder Sophie Schmidt and defender Allysha Chapman in the USA vs Canada match earlier today.
Prince and Chapman earned the start for Canada in what finished as a dramatic match. There was plenty of back and forth on both sides, though it seemed like the U.S. was having trouble finding meaningful looks at goal. Most of the power fell to the U.S. though, taking control of the ball and keeping the Canadians out of their half for most of the game.
Everything changed in the 75th minute, when U.S. defender Tierna Davidson conceded a foul inside the box. Canadian midfielder Jessie Flemming converted a penalty kick past goalkeeper AD Franch, who came on in the second half due to an injury sustained by Alyssa Naeher. The U.S. was unable to answer in the final 15 minutes, sending Canada on to gold medal match. This match marks Canada’s first victory over the U.S. in 20 years.
Nichelle Prince logged 60 minutes for Canada while Allysha Chapman played the full 90 minutes. The two of them, along with Schmidt, will take on Sweden in the gold medal match. The game will be streamed live on NBCOlympics.com on Thursday, August 5 at 9 p.m. CDT.
Mewis and Campbell will play for bronze, facing off against Australia. In their previous group stage meeting, the US and Australia played to a scoreless draw. The match will be streamed on NBCOlympics.com on Thursday, August 5 at 3 a.m. CDT. It will re-air on NBC Sports Network on Thursday at 8 p.m. CDT.
