Aug. 5, 2012
USA, CANADA SQUARE OFF IN OLYMPIC SEMIFINALS: The U.S. Women’s National Team will meet a familiar opponent in its semifinal clash in the 2012 Olympics, taking on Canada at 2:45 p.m. ET on Monday, Aug. 6, at Old Trafford in Manchester, England. The match will be broadcast live on the NBC Sports Network, NBC Olympic Soccer Channel and streamed on NBC Live Extra. Fans can follow the match via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker and on Twitter @ussoccer_wnt. The winner of USA-Canada will face the winner of the other semifinal featuring Japan and France with the gold medal to be determined on Thursday, Aug. 9, at Wembley Stadium in London.
2012 U.S. WNT Schedule
Date | Opponent | Result/ Time (ET) |
U.S. Goalscorers/TV |
Venue |
Jan. 20* | Dominican Republic | 14-0 W | Wambach (2), Lloyd, Buehler, O’Reilly (3), Heath, Rodriguez (5), Cheney |
BC Place, Vancouver, Canada |
Jan. 22* | Guatemala | 13-0 W | Wambach (2), Cheney, Rodriguez, Lloyd, Lindsey, Leroux (5), Rapinoe, Morgan |
BC Place, Vancouver, Canada |
Jan. 24* | Mexico | 4-0 W | Lloyd (3), O’Reilly | BC Place, Vancouver, Canada |
Jan. 27* | Costa Rica | 3-0 W | Heath, Lloyd, Morgan | BC Place, Vancouver, Canada |
Jan. 29* | Canada | 4-0 W | Morgan (2), Wambach (2) | BC Place, Vancouver, Canada |
Feb. 11 | New Zealand | 2-1 W | Morgan (2) | FC Dallas Stadium, Frisco, Texas |
Feb. 29^ | Denmark | 5-0 W | Morgan (2), Wambach, Lloyd, Leroux | Estadio Municipal; Lagos, Portugal |
March 2^ | Norway | 2-1 W | Wambach, Leroux | Estadio Municipal; Lagos, Portugal |
March 5^ | Japan | 0-1 L | — | Estadio Algarve; Faro, Portugal |
March 7^ | Sweden | 4-0 W | Morgan (3), Wambach | Estadio Bela Vista; Parchal, Portugal |
April 1** | Japan | 1-1 T | Morgan | Yurtec Stadium; Sendai, Japan |
April 3** | Brazil | 3-0 W | Lloyd, Boxx, Rodriguez | Fukuda Denshi Arena; Chiba, Japan |
May 27 | China PR | 4-1 W | Morgan (2), own goal, Wambach | PPL Park; Chester, Pa. |
June 16^^ | Sweden | 3-1 W | Wambach, Morgan, Heath | Örjans Vall Stadium; Halmstad, Sweden |
June 18^^ | Japan | 4-1 W | Morgan (2), Wambach (2) | Örjans Vall Stadium; Halmstad, Sweden |
June 30 | Canada | 2-1 W | Own goal, Rodriguez | Rio Tinto Stadium; Sandy, Utah |
July 25~ | France | 4-2 W | Wambach, Morgan (2), Lloyd | Hampden Park; Glasgow, Scotland |
July 28~ | Colombia | 3-0 W | Rapinoe, Wambach, Lloyd | Hampden Park; Glasgow, Scotland |
July 31~ | Korea DPR | 1-0 W | Wambach | Old Trafford; Manchester, England |
Aug. 3~ | New Zealand | 1-0 W | Wambach | St. James’ Park; Newcastle, England |
Aug. 6~ | Canada | 2:45 p.m. | NBC Sports Network | Old Trafford; Manchester, England |
* CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying tournament
^ Algarve Cup
** Kirin Challenge Cup
^^ Volvo Winners Cup
~ 2012 London Olympics
U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION – Detailed Roster
GOALKEEPERS (2): 1-Hope Solo, 18-Nicole Barnhart
DEFENDERS (6): 2-Heather Mitts, 3-Christie Rampone, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 5-Kelley O’Hara, 6-Amy LePeilbet, 16-Rachel Buehler
MIDFIELDERS (6): 7-Shannon Boxx, 8-Amy Rodriguez, 9-Heather O’Reilly, 10-Carli Lloyd, 15-Megan Rapinoe, 17-Tobin Heath
FORWARDS (4): 11-Sydney Leroux, 12-Lauren Cheney, 13-Alex Morgan, 14-Abby Wambach
QUARTERFINALS RECAP:
- USA 2, New Zealand 0: Abby Wambach scored her fourth straight goal in this year’s Olympics with the game-winner in the 27th minute and Sydney Leroux added her first Olympic goal as insurance in the 87th minute as the USA improved to 4-0-0 in this year’s Summer Games. The U.S. posted its third straight shutout.
- Canada 2, Great Britain 0: Canada’s Jonelle Filigno opened with a 12th-minute half-volley that found the upper right corner of the goal and Christine Sinclair pushed the lead to two in the 26th minute with her free kick going through the right side of Great Britain’s wall as Canada quickly took control against host Great Britain in front of nearly 29,000 at Coventry Stadium. Great Britain entered the match after having outscored its Group E opponents by a 5-0 margin, capping off the group stage with a 1-0 victory against Brazil.
- France 2, Sweden 1: France overcame an early deficit with its defenders coming through on the offensive end. Laura Georges found the equalizer in the 29th minute, heading the ball into the net when Sweden goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl could punch clear a corner kick and Wendie Renard scored the go-ahead goal off a scramble in front of the net in the 39th minute to earn the victory. Sweden’s Nilla Fischer had the game’s first goal off her left shoulder on a corner kick in the 18th minute.
- Japan 2, Brazil 0: The 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup champion Japan capitalized on its chances with Yuki Ogimi slotting the ball into the right side of the net in the 27th minute and Shinobu Ohno scored in the 73rd minute with a left-footed strike that clipped the crossbar and crossed the goal line. Japan only had three shots on goal to Brazil’s seven, but Japan goalkeeper Miho Fukumoto was up to the task with some key saves, including a clutch stop against Formiga in the first half to maintain a one-goal lead.
2012 Olympic Schedule
Date | Match | Time (ET) | Stage | Venue |
Aug. 3 | France 2, Sweden 1 | 7 a.m. | Quarterfinals | Hampden Park; Glasgow, Scotland |
Aug. 3 | USA 1, New Zealand 0 | 9:30 a.m. | Quarterfinals | St. James’ Park; Newcastle, England |
Aug. 3 | Japan 2, Brazil 0 | 12 p.m. | Quarterfinals | Millennium Stadium; Cardiff, Wales |
Aug. 3 | Canada 2, Great Britain 0 | 2:30 p.m. | Quarterfinals | City of Coventry Stadium; Coventry, England |
Aug. 6 | France vs. Japan | 12 p.m. | Semifinals | BC Place, Vancouver, Canada |
Aug. 6 | USA vs. Canada | 2:45 p.m. | Semifinals | Old Trafford Stadium; Manchester, England |
Aug. 9 | Semifinal Losers | 8 a.m. | Bronze Medal | City of Coventry Stadium; Coventry, England |
Aug. 9 | Semifinal Winners | 2:45 p.m. | Gold Medal | Wembley Stadium; London, England |
U.S. ROSTER NOTES:
- Five players on the U.S. roster have scored in this Olympics and seven total players have scored in an Olympics: Abby Wambach (4 goals in 2004; 4 goals in 2012), Carli Lloyd (2 goals in 2008; 2 goals in 2012), Heather O’Reilly (1 goal in 2004; 2 goals in 2008), Shannon Boxx (1 goal in 2004), Amy Rodriguez (1 goal in 2008), Alex Morgan (2 goals in 2012), Megan Rapinoe (1 goal in 2012), who had the game-winning tally against Colombia on July 28, and most recently Sydney Leroux who scored the clinching goal against New Zealand.
- Morgan, Tobin Heath and Rapinoe are tied for the team lead with three assists apiece in this year’s Olympics. All 10 of the USA’s goals have been assisted, including goalkeeper Hope Solo’s first career international assist on Morgan’s 32nd-minute goal against France on July 25 en route to a 4-2 win.
- Heath’s next appearance will mark her 50th international cap. There are 13 players on the USA’s Olympic roster who have played in 50 or more career matches, with Rapinoe being the most recent to notch her 50th cap on June 16 during a 3-1 win against Sweden.
For more roster notes, visit ussoccer.com.
USA vs. CANADA SERIES
- The most recent meeting between the USA and Canada came on June 30 in the USA’s Olympic Send-Off Match, a 2-1 victory at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. Amy Rodriguez scored the game-winning goal in the 85th minute to break a 1-1 tie.
- In the only previous Olympic match between the U.S. and Canada, the USA came out on top with a 2-1 victory in the quarterfinals of the 2008 Beijing Olympics on Aug. 15. Natasha Kai tallied the game-winner in the 101st minute, Angela Hucles had the USA’s other goal in the 12th minute and Christine Sinclair had Canada’s lone goal in the 30th minute.
For more series notes, visit ussoccer.com.
IN THE RECORD BOOKS
- Abby Wambach scored her eighth career Olympic goal during the USA’s 1-0 win against New Zealand on Aug. 3. She is atop the U.S. leaderboard in career Olympic goals, having surpassed the previous record of five held by Mia Hamm and Tiffeny Milbrett.
- Sydney Leroux’s second-half goal against New Zealand on Aug. 3 was her eighth of the year. All eight goals have come off the bench, matching teammate Amy Rodriguez’s 2012 total as a sub. Leroux and Rodriguez are the best off-the-bench duo in U.S. WNT history with their combined 16 goals in 2012, easily surpassing the previous 12-goal record from Debbie Keller and Tisha Venturini in 1998. Keller still holds the WNT record with nine goals off the bench in 1998, but Leroux and Rodriguez are within one goal of matching a mark that has stood for nearly 14 years.
For more record book notes and “by the numbers,” visit ussoccer.com.
ON USSOCCER.COM
- 2012 Olympic Games Home Page
- The WNT Blog
- Behind the Crest: The Second Chapter
- Behind the Crest: South to Manchester
- Behind the Crest: The Tournament’s Here
- Back Home Video Series: Megan Rapinoe: Redding Royalty
- Back Home Video Series: Lauren Cheney: Always Indy
- Back Home Video Series: Hope Solo: Solo on the Sound
- Back Home Video Series: Hope Solo: Emerald City ‘Keeper
- Back Home Video Series: Carli Lloyd: New Jersey State of Mind
- Back Home Video Series: Carli Lloyd: From Delran to the Pros
- Back Home Video Series: Daughter of Diamond Bar
- Back Home Video Series: Alex Morgan: Pride of the Brahmas
- Inside the Lines Video Series: WNT Small-Sided Game in Glasgow
- Inside the Lines Video Series: WNT Trains in Glasgow, Scotland
- Studio 90: Depth and Defense Key for WNT at Olympics
- Studio 90: WNT Finishes First in Group Ahead of Quarterfinals
- Studio 90: WNT Ready for Korea DPR at Old Trafford
- Studio 90: WNT Arrives in Manchester
- Studio 90: WNT Heading Toward Match with Colombia
- Studio 90: WNT Preview Olympic Opener
- Studio 90: MNT Players Visit WNT Training in Glasgow
- Studio 90: Veteran Lloyd, Youngster Leroux Prep for Olympics
- Studio 90: WNT Arrives in Glasgow
- Studio 90: WNT Completes Camp in Northeast England
- Studio 90: Kristine Lilly Inducted into U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame
- Studio 90: WNT Arrives in England for Pre-Olympic Camp
- Studio 90 Extra Time: Sydney Leroux
- Studio 90 Extra Time: Christie Rampone
- Studio 90 Extra Time: Megan Rapinoe
- Studio 90 Extra Time: Kelley O’Hara
- Studio 90 Extra Time: Carli Lloyd
- Studio 90 Extra Time: Rachel Buehler
- Video: 1-on-1 with Heather Mitts
- Video: Heather O’Reilly Tours Pre-Olympic Training Camp
- Video: Classic Castle and WNT Wizards
- Video: Pia the Pioneer
- Podcast: Studio 90 Extra Time: Sydney Leroux
- Podcast: Studio 90 Extra Time: Christie Rampone
- Podcast: Studio 90 Extra Time: Megan Rapinoe
- Podcast: Studio 90 Extra Time: Kelley O’Hara
- Podcast: Studio 90 Extra Time: Carli Lloyd
- Podcast: Studio 90 Extra Time: Rachel Buehler
- Podcast: Studio 90 Extra Time: Tobin Heath
- Podcast: Postgame: USA vs. France
- Podcast: Recap Show: Olympics Underway in the UK
- Podcast: Recap Show: WNT Prepares for Olympics
- Podcast: WNT Olympic Conference Call
- Podcast: Christie Rampone: Flying Solo
- Release: Wambach Goal Gives U.S. WNT 1-0 Victory Against Korea DPR, Group G Title
- Release: U.S. WNT Clinches Quarterfinal Berth with 3-0 Victory Against Colombia
- Release: U.S. WNT Defeats France 4-2 to Open Group G Play at 2012 Olympics
- Quote Sheet: U.S. WNT vs. Korea DPR
- Quote Sheet: U.S. WNT vs. Colombia
- Quote Sheet: U.S. WNT vs. France
- Quote Sheet: U.S. WNT head coach Pia Sundhage Conference Call
- Feature: Carli Lloyd’s Goal to Remember to win 2008 Olympics
- Feature: Kate Markgraf Participates in U.S. Dept. of State Soccer Envoy Program in Ethiopia
IN FOCUS: CANADA
- Canada Soccer Association
- Founded: 1912 (Joined FIFA in 1913)
- Head Coach: John Herdman
- FIFA World Ranking: 7
- Best FIFA World Cup Finish: Fourth place in 2003
- Best Olympics Finish: Semifinals of 2012 London Olympics
For Canada roster notes, visit ussoccer.com.