Jessie Fleming topples Team USA, sends Canada to gold medal match

The former Bruin buried the deciding penalty kick in the 74th minute

This post was updated Aug. 2 at 10:08 a.m.

Team USA couldn’t find the back of the net all night long.

Jessie Fleming, on the other hand, did.

The US women’s national team dropped its Olympic semifinal match to Canada 1-0 on Monday, losing for the second time in Tokyo and missing out on its chance to retake the gold medal that has eluded the squad for nine years. The Canadians had won bronze in the previous two Olympics, but now it’s the Americans who will try to salvage third place and remain on the final podium.

Either way, it will be a better finish than they had at the Rio 2016 Games, when they got eliminated in the quarterfinals by Sweden and failed to medal entirely. That loss could be chalked up to some missed penalty kicks down the stretch, but Tuesday’s defeat at the hands of Canada all came down to one that was converted.

Former UCLA center back Abby Dahlkemper was at least partially responsible for the first five goals the Americans allowed in the tournament, and she was not on the active roster Monday against Canada. Her replacement in the starting XI, 22-year-old Stanford alum Tierna Davidson, committed a foul inside the US’ own box in the 72nd minute.

After two minutes of VAR review that eventually confirmed the call, former UCLA midfielder Jessie Fleming stepped up to the ball with a chance to open the game’s scoring late in the second half.

She did just that, striking it inside the right post, evading backup American goalkeeper Adrianna French’s gloves and putting her squad up 1-0 in the 74th minute.

Jessie Fleming’s penalty kick goal sends Canada to the gold medal match! 🐻🇨🇦#GoBruins | #UCLAOlympians
pic.twitter.com/3atvjeaKzw

— UCLA Women's Soccer (@UCLAWSoccer) August 2, 2021

Former UCLA midfielder Sam Mewis didn’t enter the game until the 80th minute, but her fresh legs didn’t do much to aid in a last-ditch comeback effort. Team USA got just one shot on frame in the final 20 minutes and finished with only four of their 13 shots on target.

Canada, meanwhile, got its first shot on goal via Fleming’s penalty and only attempted three total shots all night.

"It's really special to get to contribute to the win.” Fleming said. “There's a group of players on our team who have worked on this for 20 years. Seeing them cry after that match means so much.”

The Americans dominated possession with a 60-40 advantage in that category and had more than double the Canadians' number of corner kicks with 12.

The other semifinal between Sweden and Australia kicked off less than an hour later, with the Swedes taking the match 1-0. Former UCLA goalkeeper Teagan Micah started in net for the Matildas and will now go on to face two fellow former Bruins in the bronze medal match Aug. 5 at 1 a.m. (PST).

Follow Connon on Twitter at @SamConnon
Follow All Bruins on Twitter at @SI_AllBruins
Like All Bruins on Facebook at @SI.AllBruins