Aware that Canadian goalkeeper Erin McLeod was constantly holding the ball more than the permitted six seconds -- over 15 seconds at times -- U.S. striker Abby Wambach began running near referee Christiana Pedersen and counting off the seconds that McLeod held the ball.

"I wasn't yelling. I was just counting," Wambach told Dan Wetzel. "Probably did it five to seven times."

In the 78th minute, with Wambach counting again, Pedersen finally made the call, which led the indirect kick that led to the penalty kick Wambach tied the game with at 3-3.

"Yes it's uncharacteristic [for refs to make the call]," Wambach said. "But the rules are the rules. You can say it's gamesmanship, you can say it's smart, but I'm a competitor. We needed to get a goal. They're trying to waste time; I'm trying to speed it up."