KASHIMA, Japan — The referee’s whistle had barely finished chirping when the Canadian players sprinted to the middle of the field and unleashed an explosion of exaltation that echoed around an otherwise silent stadium.
They formed a tight ring, bouncing, laughing, yelling. Minutes passed. The cheers went on and on. The players had a lot to celebrate, years of pent-up emotion to release.
On a steamy Monday night at Ibaraki Kashima Stadium, Canada notched an unexpected, but not altogether unlikely, 1-0 victory over the United States in the Olympic women’s soccer tournament, scoring a late second-half penalty kick to secure a place in the gold medal match on Friday night in Tokyo.