Alex Morgan Lifts USA Past Canada in Epic Olympic Semifinal

Alex Morgan's header in the final minute of stoppage time propelled the U.S. women past Canada to a 4-3 victory. (Mark J. Rebilas)

Knowing that reigning World Cup champion Japan awaited the winner in the gold medal match, the United States and Canada squared off in the second pivotal semifinal. While the U.S. women had won 26 straight matches against their northern neighbors over the past 11 years, they knew they would have to play well to contain the most dangerous player on the field, Canadian striker Christine Sinclair. The match gained an added edge when Canadian manager John Herdman accused the U.S. side of illegal tactics on set pieces. Needless to say, there was energy in the air as the match got under way.

The United States took control of the match early on, especially in the midfield. Their quickness to the ball setup a number of crosses into the box. Defensively, the U.S. women did well to hold Sinclair in check. Sinclair and the Canadian attack were buying their time waiting for a defensive lapse. Their opportunity came in the 23rd minute when a run by Canadian defender Marie-Eve Nault caught the United States off guard. Nault played it to Melissa Trancredi who found Sinclair for the easy goal. Just like that, it was 1-0 Canada.

That's how the score remained until the 54th minute, when the Americans got just a bit lucky. Marking up on a corner, Canadian defender Desiree Scott left the near post to double-team dangerous American Alex Morgan. Megan Rapinoe's cross bent and ended up in the net going directly through the spot vacated by Scott. With that the score was level at 1-1.

Fourteen minutes later, Canada found their answer. Sinclair connected on a cross from Trancredi to give them another one goal advantage. The lead was short lived as Rapinoe buried a bullet from inside the box for her second equalizer. Sinclair and the Canadiens weren't done just yet either. A corner kick off the foot of Sophie Schmidt found Sinclair in the air to complete her hat trick. Canada had taken the crucial 3-2 advantage.

In the 80th minute, the game took a controversial turn with a pair of questionable calls by Norwegian referee Christiana Pedersen. The first came when she whistled Canadian goalkeeper Erin McLeod for holding the ball longer than six seconds. It is an extremely rare call to make, especially given the time left in the game. The call gave the United States an indirect free kick right inside the area. Rapinoe took the kick and blasted it at the Canadian wall. The ball glanced off the elbow of Canada's Nault. Pedersen immediately awarded the Americans a penalty kick, ignoring once again the time on the clock and the fact that Nault appeared to have her arms close to her chest. Regardless, American Abby Wambach scored the penalty kick off the left post to tie the score 3-3.

Both the United States and Canada had their opportunities in the final minutes of regulation, but neither could find the winner. The script appeared to be the same in the period of extra time. However, in the final minute of stoppage time, the U.S. women appeared to have a little bit of Olympic magic left in them. Subsitute Heather O'Reilly sent a long cross into the Canadian box. Alex Morgan's header on the end of it found the net from six yards out. That meant the United States had comeback to beat Canada 4-3 to advance to the gold medal match.

My first reaction is to give my condolences to the Canadian women. They really played their hearts out. Christine Sinclair's performance was truly one for the ages. I sincerely believe that Pedersen, the referee, missed both those pivotal calls. The six-second goalkeeping call is almost always precluded by a warning. Canada's keeper McLeod was given no such warning. The hand ball call could have gone either way, but given the efforts of the defender and the nature of the timing of the game, I think a no call would have been the more advisable one. Regardless, Canada will take on France next with the bronze medal on the line. The Canadiens are seeking their first Summer Olympics medal in a traditional team sport since 1936.

The U.S. women were on the verge of missing the gold-medal match for the first time. Three times they faced a one-goal deficit. Each time they managed to find an answer when they needed it. Yes, there was some luck gained and grace bestowed upon them by the official, but those weren't the main thing that made the difference. That was the U.S. women's determination and unwillingness to give up when the going got tough. They are the better team for it. Now, they square off in a much anticipated rematch with the Japanese. Last summer, the Americans were defeated by the Japanese in penalty kicks in the World Cup final. It will be interesting to see how both sides come out with a gold medal on the line for the victor.