United States Women's National Team wins 7th SheBelieves Cup, defeating Canada in PKs 5-4

With 19,049 in attendance at Lower.com Field to watch the United States Women's National Team take on Canada in the SheBelieves Cup final, no one ignited the crowd quite like Sophia Smith.

Smith, the SheBelieves Cup MVP, scored two goals for the USWNT. Canada's Adriana Leon, however, matched that total, sending the game to penalty kicks after regulation concluded in a 2-2 draw. Five PKs each would fail to decide the winner. It would take Emily Fox's shot in sudden death for the U.S. to clinch its seventh SheBelieves Cup.

"I know Atlanta is a bigger stadium, more people, but this felt just as energetic," Smith said. "Just as loud, just as passionate, and we felt the fans' energy the whole entire game, especially in the penalty shootout."

Canada drilled its first two attempts, while Candian goalkeeper, Kailen Sheridan, blocked Trinity Rodman's shot.

Taking the second PK for the United States, Smith once put the ball in the net. She was successfully followed by goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, who turned right around after making her attempt and recorded three penalty saves, including the final shot by Evelyne Viens.

"Alyssa's incredible," said USWNT defender Abby Dahlkemper. "It just speaks volumes to having her be third in the PK lineup and having a lot of confidence in her and knowing that she's going to execute."

This is the second time this year that a meeting between these two teams has gone to penalty kicks.

It was also another physical affair. Both teams laid some hard hits in the first half, none was as impactful as the collision between Naeher and Canadian defender Ashley Lawerence near the top of the box. The ball that had been in Lawerence's control popped up in the air and to the foot of Deanne Rose, who found teammate Leon in front of the empty goal for a 1-0 lead in the 40th minute.

Near the 50-minute mark, Smith sent a long shot from the top of the box past Sheridan to even the match. Smith scored her second goal of the night 18 minutes later off a pass from Rodman.

"The first goal was just class," said USWNT interim coach Twila Kilgore. "Sometimes individuals just do special things. ... It was a left-footed finish for Soph in a crowded box, just an exceptional individual moment."

It looked like the USWNT was closing in on a regulation victory until Crystal Dunn was whistled for a foul in the box, setting up a penalty kick. Leon set the score at 2-2.

The last time these two teams went to penalty kicks was on March 6 in the CONCACAF W Gold Cup.

"There's certainly a lot of mind games when you come into them, penalty shootouts, on both sides," Naeher said. "Obviously Kailen and I were joking a little bit about, 'We just did this a few weeks ago.' But obviously, we have a lot of history with Canada. They know us very well. We know them very well. ... There's a lot of familiarity that makes it hard, but really fun to compete on the field."

SheBelieves Cup third-place match: Japan vs Brazil

It was a 2024 Paris Olympics preview in the early match at Lower.com between Japan and Brazil. The two teams, who are in the same group for this year's summer games, also needed penalty kicks to decide a winner.

After their shootout, Brazil emerged as the SheBelieves Cup's third-place finisher. It was tied 1-1 after regulation.

Despite giving up the first goal of the match to Japan's Mina Tanaka in the 35th minute, Brazil's goalkeeper Lorena became the star of the game in the second half.

Lorena was faced with the challenge of stopping Tanaka once again when Japan was awarded a penalty kick at the 66-minute mark following a foul against Honoka Hayashi in the box. Putting a stop to Tanaka's attempt, it was the first of four penalty saves the goalkeeper recorded during the match.

After multiple quality looks, Brazil put itself on the board in the 71st minute with a header-goal from Cristiane, which was enough to send the game to penalty kicks as the 1-1 score stuck.

No matter the direction Japan tried to send its penalty kicks, Lorena was there to deny all three attempts. And with her teammates hitting all their shots, that was all the goalkeeper needed to do to secure the victory for Brazil 3-0.

bmackay@dispatch.com

@brimackay15

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: United States Women's National Team defeats Canada in SheBelieves Cup