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Canada Earns Berth in World Cup
The Canadians were helped by two own goals by Mexico. In the 10th minute, Mexican defender Dioselina Valderrama headed a Sharolta Nonen free kick past hapless goalkeeper Jennifer Molina. In the 70th minute, Molina could only watch helplessly as Elizabeth Gomez, under pressure from Kara Lang, inadvertently kicked the ball into her own net, trying to handle a difficult cross from Charmaine Hooper. The Canadians came close to opening the scoring in the 5th minute when Lang made a number of moves before hitting a right-footed cross that Silvana Burtini only managed to get a piece of. Two minutes later Burtini found herself involved in a scramble in front of Molina, but the ball was blocked and cleared. After a disappointing first half, Canada started the second on a more positive note. Carmelina Moscato replaced Burtini and had an immediate impact when she crossed to Hooper. The Canadian captain’s header was well saved by a lunging Molina. In the 58th minute, Hooper fed Lang who strode into the box, but her strong right-footed shot sailed over the bar. One minute later, Lang returned the favour cutting a cross back into the box, but Hooper’s header went wide. The Mexicans had several chances to score but were thwarted by the goalkeeping of Karina LeBlanc. They came close to scoring an equalizer in the 65th minute Paty Perez hit her shot past the onrushing LeBlanc, only to see it roll slowly past the far post. Two minutes later Perez failed to redirect a shot by Maribel Dominguez at the opposite post. Mexico’s best chance to score in the first half came in the 22nd minute when Monica Gerardo headed over the bar from a Fatima Leyva free kick. After outscoring their opponents 23-1 in the opening round three games, the Canadians were unable to score themselves. The final will be played in Pasadena, California on Saturday, November 9. Wednesday,
November 6, 2002 – Football Confederation Gold Cup Semi-Final Source:
canadasoccer.com |
Seattle,
Washington – Canada’s Women’s World Cup Team qualified for the
2003 Women’s World Cup in China thanks to their 2-0 win over Mexico in the
Women’s Gold Cup semi-final at Safeco Field, Wednesday night in Seattle.
The win gave Canada one of two automatic berths and qualified them for their third
consecutive World Cup. The Americans earned the other automatic berth with a 7-0
win over Costa Rica, setting up a rematch of the FIFA U-19 Women’s World
Championship Final, which the Americans won 1-0.