They suffered a major scare, but Helen Resor ’09 and the United States Olympic women’s hockey team will be going into Friday’s semifinals undefeated.

An energetic Finnish team proved more of a challenge than many had anticipated, leading the Americans for most of the first two periods yesterday in Torino. But six unanswered goals in the second and third saved Team USA from what could have been its first-ever loss to the Finns, and the Americans won, 7-3, after trailing 3-1 late in the second.

Resor, a defender, took one shot and played well but was called for two penalties, both in the U.S.-dominated third. The Americans will play the Swedes in a semifinal Friday, but the powerful Canadian team — the only one experts believe can challenge U.S. dominance — looms on the other side of the bracket.

Yale’s other Olympian, German hockey player Denise Soesilo ’10, also played yesterday. The Germans won, 2-1, besting archrival Switzerland. Soesilo took one shot.

— Nick Baumann