It took some effort and hard work from the United States to get past Canada in the semifinals of the Gold Cup last night. The win by the Americans secures a spot in the finals to face heated rivals Mexico Sunday afternoon in Chicago.

Even though the attendance at Soldier Field was minimal and the temperature was blanketed by humidity, the United States soccer team fought to the very end to hold on to a 2-1 win. Frankie Hejduk (left) scored the first goal of the game for the United States in the 39th minute. He received a pass from Landon Donovan at the top of the box and rocketed a shot off the left post, past Canadian keeper Pat Onstad. The goal by Hejduk was his first since June 11th, 2000.

Demarcus Beasley cruised down the field on a breakaway right before the halftime whistle and Onstad reacted quickly, but rather rough as well. The Canadian goalie tripped up Beasley in the box to get a penalty kick for the United States. Donovan took the kick, put it right past Onstad, and the Americans had a solid 2-0 lead going into the interval.

Coming out of the gate in the second half, the United States was on the attack again to try and wrap the game up quickly. The only problem with that was it left the Yankee defense vulnerable in the back. Ian Hume of Canada was subbed in at the 64th minute mark and scored in the 76th to make it 2-1. The Canadian attack didn’t stop there, as waves of shots ensued. In injury time, Canada made on last effort to push the game into overtime. Onyewu headed a ball back to keeper Kasey Keller, but it was intercepted by Canada’s Atiba Hutchinson who shot into the back of the net for a goal. The goal would be immediately erased by the linesmen, as it was called offsides.

The United State’s escaped a wild one here. Frankie Hejduk and Michael Bradley will not be able to play this weekend in the final as they both will be serving suspensions. The time has come for another “border battle” between the United States and Mexico. The final of the 2007 Gold Cup will be the stage and the winner will head to the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa, where they’ll face some of the most dominant national teams in the world.