Last night we prevailed over Canada 2-1 to advance to the semi-finals. It was a battle, and both teams slugged it out through 120 minutes. I was so proud of the two Bruins on the pitch - Kara Lang has been a standout for her team in this tournament, and Lauren Cheney came on late in the game and added a tremendous spark off the bench.

 

We got a great start, scoring and dominating the first 20 minutes of play. Then a huge thunderstorm rolled in. After two loud cracks of lightning, the referee suspended play, and we headed to the locker-room to wait out the storm. Ninety minutes later play resumed, and Canada had new life. They high-pressured and were rewarded with an amazing blast from their striker Christine Sinclair. What followed was an exhausting, physical battle. We created so many scoring chances but couldn't find the back of the net until overtime when Natasha Kai finished a cross with a great header. After the game, there were smiles and hugs all round!!

 

Today we got on another plane and headed back to Beijing. We will move into the Olympic village for the remaining games, so it will be good to quit traveling and be around the other athletes. The players are in good spirits - the friends and families have been troopers following us around China. The team will spend today doing some recovery work in the pool, and the staff will meet up with our scouts to begin to prepare for Japan.