Our gals gave 'em a go
By TERRY JONES -- Edmonton Sun
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- Boy Can They Play This Game II.
Or, Play It Again, Samantha?
The latest wave of Canadian women's soccer talent wrote another chapter in the story that is fast becoming a sports sensation of our nation.
For 90 minutes Canada played even-up with the team from the world's greatest soccer nation. For all of regulation time, Canada's latest batch of go-go girls gave Brazil a go.
In the end, 21-seconds into overtime, they lost 2-1 on a golden goal.
It was almost a replay of the story Christine Sinclair, Kara Lang and Co. wrote last year when they excited the nation as they lost on a golden goal to the U.S. before 47,784 fans at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. Except the crowd wasn't 47,784 here.
It was 63.
By actual count.
Plus 46 soldiers.
Most of the fans were parents and press. But not as many parents as the night before when the two teams went 24 minutes playing in a tropical downpour in which the 30,000-seat main Pan-Am Stadium turned into a chain of lakes.
PARENTS HAD TO LEAVE
The team was supposed to fly out of here at 9:15 a.m. yesterday. Some of the parents booked the same flight and ended up missing what turned out to be the game of their lives so far for their daughters.
"I saw them before they left,'' said Kelly Haxton of Calgary who had played parts of the other games in the tournament but started and went all the way in this one.
"It's too bad they couldn't have watched us play in this one. It was awesome. But that's life. Stuff happens.''
It was the same for Selenia Iacchelli of Edmonton.
"They really wanted to stay. It's too bad. Our team played so well.''
In the end the northern girls didn't know whether to laugh or cry. So they did both.
"It sucks to lose,'' said Iacchelli. "But it isn't taking long to get over it. We knew who we were playing. This is Brazil's Women's World Cup team. We're almost all 16, 17 and 18 years old. And we took them to a golden goal. To tie them and almost win ... it sucks to lose but I think we scored another victory for Canadian women's soccer.''
Canada came close to going up 1-0 in the 10th minute when the one Canadian Women's World Cup veteran on the team, Kristina Kiss of Ottawa, hit the woodwork. Two minutes later Kiss booted one over the crossbar.
Canada's best player this day was keeper Taryn Swiatek of Calgary who made a huge save on brilliant Brazil striker Marta.
Cristiane Silva of Brazil fired one off the post in the 40th minute. One minute before the end of the first half, Canada failed to clear a free kick and Miraildes Mota made it 1-0 Brazil.
But the Canadian girls didn't quit. Unlike our men's team, our women push forward.
Rhian Wilkinson of Pointe Clair, Que., was foiled on a great chance early in the second half before Swiatek made two more large saves to keep Canada close.
In the 66th minute Kiss found the top left corner from just outside the box on a direct free kick to tie it up.
And so it went until the same Brazilian team, which played games in Ottawa and Montreal against Canada's Women's World Cup team earlier this year and beat these kids 5-0 earlier in this tournament, found themselves in overtime.
That didn't last long.
Brazil scored 21 seconds into overtime to win it, Marta sending a perfect ball to Silva to win the gold.
"It was a simple, penetrating pass from them that beat the back line,'' said Canadian coach Ian Bridge. "Taryn maybe hesitated a second to come forward. A little mistake and a mistake at the wrong time.''
Swiatek had a single tear running down her cheek when it was over.
"I'm still kind of in shock,'' she said. "It happened so fast.
"It was a heck of a game. We really gave them a run for their money. It was all we could really ask for. But before I knew it, the ball was behind the back line and ...''
MORE THAN A SILVER LINING
Bridge went out of his way to let them know that they should treasure their silver medal for what it was.
"It's like one of you put it the other day,'' he told the Canadian media contingent. "We showed up here with a Triple-A team and found out we were playing the New York Yankees.
"I'm just pleased we played such a great final. It was a superb effort. We regrouped from the fiasco the night before and this team grew and grew and grew here. We had 12 players under the age of 18. And we pushed a team that I believe will be one of the dominant teams at the Women's World Cup.''
Kiss said when she rejoins the World Cup team she's going to deliver a message to the older girls.
"I'm going to say, 'Watch out. There's a lot more talent coming up behind our backs.' ''
