Former LSU soccer star Allysha Chapman is an Olympic gold medalist after Canada knocked off Sweden in penalties on Friday morning at the Yokohama International Stadium.
Chapman earned the start on the backline, her fourth of the Olympics, and played all the way into the first extra time stanza, not subbing out until the 93rd minute of play. Sweden took the lead in the 34th minute, but a 67th minute penalty kick conversion by Jesse Fleming leveled things up for the Canadian side.
The match would go to penalties to decide the gold.
Canada took a 1-0 advantage in penalties after the first round of the shootout before failing to score any of their next three attempts. After three rounds, Sweden led 2-1 and the hopes for Canada looked dim. Sweden and Canada both had their shots denied in the fourth round before Sweden’s gold-medal winning attempt sailed high in the fifth round. Canada’s Deanne Rose stepped up and cashed in the fifth round attempt to bring things level at two. In the first round of the sudden death portion of the shootout, Sweden’s attempt was saved, and then Julia Grosso sealed the deal for Canada with a conversion. Canada won the shootout by a tally of 3-2.
It was the first ever Olympic gold medal match that went to a shootout and it marks the first Olympic gold medal for Canada. Chapman, who became LSU soccer’s first player to ever earn a medal at the Olympics, is now a two-time Olympic medalist, picking up a bronze in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Chapman is considered LSU’s most decorated player, having earned All-SEC honors in each of her three seasons (2009-11), one of five players to ever accomplish the feat. She was named first team in 2010 and 2011 after being a second team choice in ’09. She became the first player in program history to be named the SEC’s Defensive Player of the Year in her final season.
Chapman, who started in 66 of 67 games, was also a three-time choice to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-South Region team, highlighted by a first-team honor in ’11. She helped the Tigers to the SEC West titles and to a pair of trips to the NCAA tournament in ’09 and ’11.
She was also a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll and graduated from LSU in ’11 with a degree in biology.
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