SAN DIEGO — Closer to water polo than a game of soccer, Wednesday’s Concacaf W Gold Cup semifinal win for the United States women’s national team over Canada played out as a bizarre rainy spectacle at Snapdragon Stadium.
With stormy weather impacting a waterlogged field, any and all tactics immediately became irrelevant as 15,245 fans watched both sides fail to do much with a ball that became stuck every few yards in a 2-2 stalemate that was decided in a shootout.
“It’s obvious that the game was unplayable,” Canada coach Bev Priestman said. “We put in a lot of work in a game plan and within Minute 1, it’s thrown out the window.”
– Stream on ESPN+: NWSL, LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)
Highlighting wider issues with how ill-prepared the venue was for the growing precipitation that peaked near halftime, thousands of supporters ducked underneath limited coverings at the canopy-less stadium. In the press box, a handful of media occasionally needed to protect their laptops when wind funneled rain into the area.
Looking toward the field, it felt like a pointless endeavor to attempt to analyze or make sense of what was happening when the ball sporadically stopped in ponds or zipped past shallow areas. Despite the drama that pushed the 1-1 semifinal into extra time, the late theatrics…
