Portland, OR (My Sportsbook) - Oh, Canada.
Never had the Canadians women's national side registered a win in the World Cup ahead of USA '03. Now, thanks to the heart of skipper Charmaine Hooper, the Maple Leafs will beat on to the semifinals against Sweden.
The fit and physical Hooper, a youthful 35, willed Canada into the final-four in what has proven to be the upset of the tournament to date. Her seventh- minute header goal stood up through regulation to send '99 runner-up China packing for Beijing following an punishing night of quarterfinal action in Portland, Oregon.
Hooper, who recently morphed into a rock-solid defender for the North Americans, masterfully served to organize the Canadian back-four against a Chinese squad who threw everything at them they could muster, only to be turned away.
Hooper also led a Canada storm which has defied critics and nay-sayers all the way to the World Cup semifinal round -- a level which has long eluded them.
"This is the biggest win for our women's national team. It's bigger than anything we've done before," Hooper said. "It's bigger than our World Cup qualifying final.
"This is going to be a huge step for our program and also it will be a huge step for women's soccer in Canada. Four years ago I never imagined us being in the semifinals of the World Cup. I didn't even imagine us winning a game, and here we've won two games."
Despite China looking the brighter side in patches, it was Canada's shear determination -- a grand mix of youth and veteran players -- who weathered the Asian attack as a unit for which Hooper was the glue.
"I believe it was because of injuries that Hooper was originally given her defensive role", said FIFA Technical Study Group member, Vera Pauw. "But in this match she truly showed that this position suits her very well and one could only be very impressed by how quickly she has assumed her defensive responsibilities."
Though Canadian 'keeper Taryn Swiatek showed flashes of brilliance against the Steel Roses, it was undoubtedly Hooper's presence as the rock in the rearguard which vaulted Canada into a new stratosphere of the women's game.
"This is going to be a huge step for our program and also it will be a huge step for women's soccer in Canada," added Hooper.
