For a few minutes there, it looked like Alyssa Naeher was going to leave this one with regrets. On a rain-soaked night in Southern California, the U.S. women's national team was just moments away from navigating one of the most surreal games in program history. They'd gotten the goals they needed, sliding through puddle after puddle to get them, and just needed to see it out.
Then the foul happened. Naeher was the culprit, allowing Canada back into the game, with seconds to spare. What happened next, though, was something superhuman.
Behind Naeher's heroics, the USWNT topped Canada 3-1 in a shootout following a 2-2 draw through 120 minutes. Naeher, by the end of it all, was the hero. In addition to three saves in that shootout, she stepped up and scored a penalty of her own. After suffering through the USWNT's World Cup exit in a shootout against the Netherlands, Naeher took things into her own hands in a way we've never seen before.
The USWNT goalkeeper wasn't the only star, though, even if she was the biggest one. Jaedyn Shaw proved that even the rain couldn't stop her as she continued her ascendence with the opening goal. Sophia Smith got on the scoresheet, too, scoring a much-needed goal to quiet any rumblings about her spot in the team.
In the end, it was a chaotic, rain-soaked mess of a game, one that was always going to go down in USWNT lore. Instead of the Rain Game, though, Wednesday's clash will be remembered as the Naeher Game, and what a game it was.
GOAL rates USNWT players from Snapdragon Stadium...
