Canadian loss to Americans made all the worse because of Richards injury

It’s one thing to see a professional player down on the turf for a long period of time, and then stretchered off the field. But at least you can say to yourself that hey, that’s a pro on the field, (s)he knows the risks of playing the game. That’s why that person gets a paycheque. But, when a teenage amateur player — on the field because of national pride and the chance to develop her young career — lays on the ground, it’s a lot harder to watch. Canadian defender Mika Richards was on the turf for several minutes. And it put Canada’s 2-0 loss to the United States in a different light. Yes, Canadian keeper Rylee Foster made an outstanding double save on the ensuing American penalty kick but, with the game already lost, and Canada down to 10 players, it didn’t feel all that glorious. After all, these two teams’ final U-17 Women’s CONCACAF Championship group-stage game wasn’t a do-or-die affair; both had already qualified to move on. Late in the match, after losing the ball to U.S. forward Mallory Pugh, Richards chased down her quarry from behind and tugged on the American’s jersey. Pugh went down, and in the process of going to the turf, her elbow looked to inadvertently crash against Richards’ face. But, replays showed that Richards was actually going down in pain before the contact was made. After the incident, Richards was motionless on the pitch for several minutes, being attended to by medical teams. Meanwhile, the referee placed the ball on the spot — after all, Richards did foul Pugh in the penalty area — and waited for the Jamaican hosts’ volunteer crews to take the injured player off the pitch. And, as Richards was strapped to the stretcher, she was sheepishly shown a yellow card for that initial shirt-tug. Both Canada and the U.S. came into the game knowing they had both qualified for the semifinals of the tournament, and that the game was for placement purposes only. Sure, pride was on the line, but the Americans rotated their squad while Canadian coach Bev Priestman stuck with the same core group of players. The Canadians got lucky early on when a back pass to Foster went unpunished by the referee. Then, in 10th minute, a lobbed shot by American Tegan McGrady bounced off the top of the Canadian crossbar. Finally, with nine minutes to go before the end of the first half, the dominant Americans got their deserved goal. Zoe Redei, who scored four times against Guatemala, capitalized on a defensive error and put the Americans up a goal. The Americans started off the second half on fire, but Foster came up big to deny Pugh on the break. And, American midfielder Dorian Bailey drilled a chance off the post. But the Canadians could not hold up under the onslaught. A lobbed ball down the right side found Redei streaking past the Canadian backline; she squared it to Pugh for the tap-in. And the Americans, knowing they had sentenced Canada to second place in their group and a date against the host Jamaicans in the semis, had it in cruise control, until the unfortunate Richards incident.