Everything went as expected in Wednesday night's CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup semifinals, except that it didn't.

The United States and Canada, towering favorites to play in Saturday night's championship match, used shutout victories before 10,079 at Safeco Field in Seattle to claim berths in next year's fourth Women's World Cup.

The Americans, as anticipated, dominated Costa Rica, 7-0, getting a hat trick from Cindy Parlow and making up for a half-dozen just-misses in the first half with six second-half goals.

Canada, however, found itself in a fight with Mexico and pulled out a 2-0 triumph thanks to superb work in the back by Atlanta Beat defender Sharolta Nonen and a pair of own goals.

The results set up the U.S.-Canada showdown for Saturday night at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., but the more important clash will be for third place. The Mexico-Costa Rica winner will advance to a playoff against the No. 3 team from the Asian confederation's qualifying tournament, with an additional World Cup berth going to the victor.

The United States, reigning World Cup champion, was never in trouble against Costa Rica, even if the scoreline made it seem otherwise. The match was played in and around the Tica box, but a bunkered defense and repeated misfortune kept the score close throughout the first half.

Parlow got her hat trick with goals in the 30th, 49th and 52nd minutes, the last two — well-finished headers from right-wing crosses by Cat Reddick and Kristine Lilly — opening the floodgates. Angela Hucles, with her first international goal, made it 4-0 in the 65th, and it was up followed by an own goal 14 minutes later and beautiful finishes by Shannon MacMillan and Lilly in the closing minutes.

''We were pleased with way our team started off and the way we pursued goals,'' U.S. coach April Heinrichs said. ''We talked at halftime about being patient and confident, and if someone could please knock that glass shield off the goal so that we can put in a few in the second half. And that person was Cindy Parlow.''

Parlow, who has scored five goals in the Gold Cup, had broken the scoreless draw 30 minutes in, legging in Julie Foudy's feed across the goalmouth after a superb ball, one of many, from Aly Wagner. She towered over the Tica defense on the next two, first rising above Monica Salazar to deposit Reddick's cross off goalkeeper Marie Claire Herra's hands and into the left-side netting, then powerfully nodding home Lilly's corner kick.

''The service I received tonight was the best I've received all year with the national team,'' said Parlow, whose fifth career hat trick left her with 57 international goals. ''I was talking with Cat Reddick at halftime, and I was telling her that the early service behind the defense was on, and five minutes into the second half, she puts it right on my head.''

It was an exhibition from that point on, with the Americans — despite strong play from Herra and central defender Gabriela Trujillo — attacking almost at will. Costa Rica, playing in a collapsing 4-5-1, never challenged U.S. goalkeeper Briana Scurry, who was credited with one save. The Americans owned huge advantages in shots (37-1) and corner kicks (17-0).

They should have had more to show for the dominance. Shannon MacMillan, left with only the goalkeeper to beat, and Joy Fawcett, at the near post on a MacMillan corner kick, hit the crossbar in the first eight minutes. Wagner's header from a Reddick cross hit the bar in the 40th. Other shots just cleared the bar — none more frustrating than Fawcett's header from inside 2 yards — or went wide of a post.

Hucles' insertion for Tiffany Roberts at halftime — with Julie Foudy moving from the right to the deep position in the Americans' tight diamond midfield — enabled the Americans to begin unraveling the Ticas' defensive web. And after Parlow made it 3-0, Hucles netted her first international goal, cleating the ball past Herra after MacMillan flicked on Parlow's cross. Hucles, slipping between Trujillo and Cinthia Lopez, tried to control the ball with her cleats up, but it ricocheted toward the net and just slid past Herra.

A Lopez own goal — after Lorrie Fair's far-post cross cleared Kristine Lilly — made it 5-0 in the 79th. MacMillan ripped a loose ball to the upper-left in the 86th, and Lilly took a bouncing feed from Wagner and placed a dipping shot in the upper-right corner in the 90th.

''[Costa Rica] was relying on the bunker and counter and taking their time by being patient, but I have to give credit to our team,'' said Mia Hamm, who came on for Parlow in the 71st minute, returning from a bruised shin sustained against Trinidad & Tobago a eight days earlier.

''We didn't get frustrated like we had in prior games when we had outshot teams. The team stayed focused and extremely positive, and that allowed us when we came out in the second half to get some goals. And once Cindy got the first two, it opened up the field for us.''

Canada's situation was far different. Mexico's ball skills, its speed and its possession game caused real trouble, and the Canadians struggled to link passes and rarely penetrated a defensive wall anchored by Boston Breakers defender Monica Gonzalez and outside back Elizabeth Gomez, from the University of Miami.

The skill factor meant the most in central midfield, where Monica Vergara and Fatima Leyva fueled a counterattack that nonetheless managed few chances. W-League MVP Maribel Dominguez and Washington Freedom midfielder Monica Gerardo — who left with an apparent twisted ankle in the 36th minute — challenged the Canadian defense but too often lacked support near the box.

Neither Teresa Worbis, who replaced Gerardo, nor ailing UCLA freshman Iris Mora, who took over for Worbis in the 71st minute, were as effective as was Gerardo.

Nonen was enormous for Canada. She twice stripped Dominguez of the ball — both times easily — after the Mexican forward seemingly had been set free in the Canadian box.

Christine Sinclair, the University of Portland All-American and the Gold Cup's leading scorer, with seven goals, never got involved. Charmaine Hooper was dangerous on occasion, but Gonzalez and Cal State Fullerton's Marlene Sandoval gave her little space to operate. Kara Lang, the 16-year-old wunderkind, struggled with the ball in the first half but tested the Mexicans wide after the break.

Canada's uneasy lead was formed in the 10th minute, when Nonen's free kick into the box from about 45 yards glanced off Dioselina Valderrama's head and into the Mexican goal. Valderrama had leapt to keep Andrea Neil, Nonen's intended target, from the ball, but her header couldn't have been more perfect had it been planned.

The second own goal came in the 70th minute. Hooper cut in from the left wing above the box and sent a ball toward the far post for Lang. Gomez, the Mexican left back, played it expertly, keeping Lang from the ball with her body while trapping Hooper's cross as both tumbled. Gomez's trail leg, moving forward as she fell, clipped the ball, which rolled just inside the left post.

Mexico had just come close to tying twice in less than two minutes. Paty Perez fired just past the right post from 15 yards in the 65th minute, catching Canadian keeper Karina LeBlanc leaning the other way. Dominguez just missed at the left post after being left one-one-one with LeBlanc — with the Canadians howling for an offside call — after a fine angling run by Gonzalez.

CONCACAF WOMEN'S GOLD CUP

FINAL FOUR

Semifinals
Nov. 6 at Seattle

United States 7 Costa Rica 0. Goals: Parlow 30, 49, 52, Hucles 65, own goal Lopez 79. MacMillan 86, Lilly 90.

United States — Scurry; Reddick, Fawcett, Chastain, Benson (Fair, 46); Roberts (Hucles, 46), Foudy, Lilly, Wagner; MacMillan, Parlow (Hamm, 71).

Costa Rica — Herra; Rojas, Trujillo, Segura, Lopez ; Briceno, Rodriguez (Barrantes, 82), Salazar; Cruz; Megan Chavez (Campos, 74), Castro (Alvarez, 46).

Yellow cards — None.

Referee — Sonia Denoncourt (Canada). A — 10,079.

Canada 2 Mexico 0. Goals: own goal Valderrama 10, own goal Gomez 70.

Canada — LeBlanc; Boyd, Nonen, Hermus; Neil, Timko; Chapman, Lang, Burtini (Moscato, 46; Kiss, 86); Hooper, Sinclair.

Mexico — Molina; S. Mora, Sandoval, Gonzalez, Gomez; Valderrama (Moore, 57), Leyva, Vergara, Perez; Dominguez, Gerardo (Worbis, 36; I. Mora, 71).

Yellow cards — Canada: Neil 18, Lang 74; Mexico: Gonzalez 76, I. Mora 84, Dominguez 93+.

Referee — Clareth Jimenez (Costa Rica). A — 10,079.

Note: United States and Canada qualify for 2003 Women's World Cup in China.

Finals
Nov. 9 at Pasadena, Calif.
Third-place: Costa Rica vs. Mexico 4:30 p.m. PST (Winner advances to playoff with Asia No. 3 team for berth in 2003 WWC)
Championship: United States vs. Canada, 7 p.m. PST

GROUP 1

Oct. 27 at Pasadena, Calif.
Panama 4 (Bedoya 29, De Mera 35, 61, 66) Trinidad & Tobago 2 (Attin-Johnson 39, St. Louis 65).

United States 3 (Wagner 5, Parlow 42, MacMillan 93+) Mexico 0.

Oct. 29 at Fullerton, Calif.
United States 3 (Parlow 19, Chastain 54, Milbrett 62) Trinidad & Tobago 0.

Mexico 5 (Gonzalez pen. 4, 22, Sandoval 37, Leyva 65, Dominguez 78) Panama 1 (Valderrama 26).

Nov. 2 at Seattle
Mexico 2 (Gerardo 7, 60) Trinidad & Tobago 0.

United States 9 (Milbrett 3, 5, 9, 22, 34, MacMillan 12, 14, Roberts 40, Wambach 85) Panama 0.

Final Standings
United States 3-0-0 15-0 9
Mexico 2-1-0 7-4 6
Panama 1-2-0 5-16 3
Trin. & Tobago 0-3-0 2-9 0

GROUP 2

Oct. 30 at Victoria, British Columbia
Costa Rica 2 (Megan Chavez 43, 69) Jamaica 0

Canada 11 (Hooper 6, 27, 33, Burtini 13, 85, Sinclair 16, 44, 74, 87, Chapman 31, own goal Fenelon 80) Haiti 1 (Marseille 15)

Nov. 1 at Victoria, British Columbia
Costa Rica 5 (Cruz 53, 69, Megan Chavez 62, 87, Briceno 91+) Haiti 0.

Canada 9 (Sinclair 13, 77, Hooper 20, Walsh 42, Lang 45, 63, 84, 92+, Hermus 56) Jamaica 0.

Nov. 3 at Victoria, British Columbia
Haiti 2 (Gilles 13, 56) Jamaica 1 (Sinclair 59)

Canada 3 (Hooper pen. 28, 42, Sinclair 47) Costa Rica 0

Final Standings
Canada 3-0-0 23-1 9
Costa Rica 2-1-0 7-3 6
Haiti 1-2-0 3-17 0 Jamaica 0-3-0 1-13 0

GOALSCORERS
1. Christine Sinclair (Canada) 7
2. Charmaine Hooper (Canada) 6
Tiffeny Milbrett (USA) 6
4. Cindy Parlow (USA) 5
5. Megan Chavez (Costa Rica) 4
Kara Lang (Canada) 4
Shannon MacMillan (USA) 4
8. Amarelis DeMera (Panama) 3
9. Silvana Burtini (Canada) 2
Shirley Cruz (Costa Rica) 2
Monica Gerardo (Mexico) 2
Marie-Denise Gilles (Haiti) 2
Monica Gonzalez (Mexico) 2
14. Maylee Attin-Johnson (T&T) 1
Maritzenia Bedoya (Panama) 1
Xiomara Briceno (Costa Rica) 1
Candace Chapman (Canada) 1
Brandi Chastain (USA) 1
Maribel Dominguez (Mexico) 1
Randee Hermus (Canada) 1
Angela Hucles (USA) 1
Fatima Leyva (Mexico) 1
Kristine Lilly (USA) 1
Kencia Marseille (Haiti) 1
Marlene Sandoval (Mexico) 1
Tasha St. Louis (T&T) 1
Geneva Sinclair (Jamaica) 1
Diana Valderrama (Panama) 1
Aly Wagner (USA) 1
Amy Walsh (Canada) 1
Abby Wambach (USA) 1