PORTLAND, Oregon, 4 October 2003 — Charmaine Hooper scored off a header in the seventh minute as Canada stunned China 1-0 on Thursday and advanced to their first ever berth in the FIFA Women’s World Cup semifinals.
“This is a dream come true for me and for many of the other players on this team,” said goalkeeper Taryn Swiatek, who made five saves for the shutout. Hooper scored in the seventh minute to help Canada book a date with Sweden in the semifinals which will feature two matchups between North America and European teams tomorrow in Portland, Oregon.
Germany overpowered Russia 7-1 in the other quarterfinal on Thursday and will face the host United States. “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,” said Hooper.
The loss ended a year of disappointment for China which was initially supposed to host the tournament before an outbreak of SARS forced organizers to move it to the US. The game also marked the final international appearance for China’s star forward Sun Wen, who plans to retire. Dogged striker-turned-defender Hooper finished off a long ball from Diana Matheson in the seventh minute, heading the ball over China keeper Han Wen-Xia for what turned out to be the only goal of the match. Try as they might for the next 83 minutes, the offensively-challenged Steel Roses just could not find a way past 22-year-old goalkeeper Swiatek, who smothered every shot fired her way. The Chinese controlled nearly 65 percent of possession and took 16 shots to Canada’s five.
Germany confirmed their status as the European powerhouse by easily rolling over Russia 7-1. Kerstin Garefrekes and Birgit Prinz scored two goals each as Germany set up a dream showdown with defending champions, the United States. Despite a late fight back and a goal from the youngest player Elena Danilova, Russia never looked to give their fellow Europeans much trouble.
And after a second-half goal avalanche, the Germans also secured their place at next year’s Olympic Women’s Football Tournament in Athens. The Germans carried the game from the start, and the Russians looked content to soak up the pressure and burst out on their trademark counter-attacks.
