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, but with Canada's Adriana Leon matching that total, the final went to penalty kicks after regulation concluded in a 2-2 draw. Five PKs each would fail to be enough to decide this year's winner, and it would take Emily Fox's made attempt for the U.S. to clinch its seventh SheBelieves Cup by a score of 5-4.

"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 fan's energy the whole entire game, especially in the penalty shootout."

It was a strong start to penalty kicks for Canada, drilling the first two attempts past USWNT goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher and its own goalkeeper, Kailen Sheridan, blocking Trinity Rodman's shot.

Taking the second PK for the United States, Smith once again started the score for her team, and was followed by a made attempt by Naeher. The goalkeeper would record 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."

Neither team backed down during the 90-plus minutes of regulation that featured physicality on the field. This is the second time this year that a meeting between these two has gone to penalty kicks.

Both teams took hard hits in the first half, but none was as impactful as the collision between Naeher and Canadian defender Ashley Lawerence.

The ball that was 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.

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

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 were placed in the same group for the summer games set the bar high.

Brazil earned the SheBelieves Cup's third place honor, but it would take going to penalty kicks to do so, after ending regulation tied 1-1.

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