The United States defeated France 3-1 Wednesday to advance to the finals of the Women's World Cup for the first time in 12 years.

Associated Press national writer Linda Armour writes that Abby Wambach, the hero of Saturday's improbable comeback against Brazil, again proved to be the difference maker when she broke "a tense [1-1] tie with a monstrous header — what else? — off Lauren Cheney's corner kick in the 79th minute." The Rochester Chronicle-Democrat, Wambach's hometown paper, notes this is her third consecutive game with a goal, and that she also had "a couple of near-misses in the first half." Alex Morgan added another score in the 82nd minute to seal the game. They'll play either Japan or Sweden in the finals Sunday in Frankfurt.

We weren't watching live, but knew something had happened when our entire Twitter feed erupted in tweets of "GOOOOAL."

Democrat and Chronicle staff photographer Jamie Germano captured the celebration at a bar in Wambach's hometown.

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Ray Gustini