Canadian women’s national team soccer coach Bev Priestman wasn’t impressed with the penalty call that led to her team’s loss to the United States in the final of the CONCACAF W Championship on Monday night in Mexico.
“I would have liked to have seen it checked at least. I think it was soft,” Priestman told Canada Soccer after the 1-0 loss. “But a penalty is a penalty. Decisions are made in games and you’ve get to get on with it. We responded well, I think that’s the most important thing.”
Alex Morgan’s 78th-minute penalty stood as the winner.
The American got the golden opportunity after Rose Lavelle went down after contact from substitute Allysha Chapman, prompting Mexican referee Katia Garcia to point to the penalty spot.
Chapman appeared to clip ankles with Lavelle as they chased the ball.
Of course, Canada’s Jessie Fleming also scored on a penalty in the memorable Olympic semifinal between the teams last year — a 1-0 semifinal win that cleared the path for the Canadians to capture gold in Tokyo.
Diana Matheson, a former star for Canada, compared the calls on the OneSoccer broadcast.
“Mirror image is that Tokyo semifinal and the penalty kick being awarded. Both kind of relatively, weaker or softer foul that caused the penalty. Sports are cruel. The penalty was all that was in it today and that’s the difference between the Olympic qualification berth and unfortunately waiting another year and a half to qualify,” Matheson said.
With the win, the U.S. earns a berth in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Canada, the reigning Olympic champs, must beat Jamaica in a playoff next year to get a shot to defend its gold medal.
Morgan, meanwhile, was feeling much better after this game as compared to last year in Tokyo.
