Goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger stars for Germany at the Women's European Championship

BASEL, Switzerland (AP) — She had the save of the tournament so far, two stops in the penalty shootout and a successful spot kick of her own. Ann-Katrin Berger pulled out all the heroics for Germany on Saturday.

Germany recovered from going a player and a goal down early on to hold France to a 1-1 draw in their Women’s European Championship quarterfinal and triumph on penalties.

A stunning team performance saw Germany stifle the France onslaught and when Les Bleus did get through they came up against the impassable Berger.

The Gotham FC goalkeeper was — unsurprisingly — named player of the match but Berger was quick to deflect the praise for her display onto her teammates.

“I was not happy that we had to go to a penalty shootout … but I think, I did my part of the game now,” Berger said. “Because the team, in 120 minutes, they worked incredibly hard and I think that all the credit should go to the team, not me.

“Maybe it was the decisive moment in the penalty shootout, but everyone here should talk about the performance of the team because that was amazing and incredible.”

“Amazing” and “incredible” could also be used to describe Berger’s performance.

The 34-year-old saved nine of the 10 shots she faced, with her best of the night — and possibly of the whole tournament — coming in extra time when a backward header from Germany captain Janina Minge had Berger scrambling back to scoop it off the line with an astonishing one-handed stop to spare her teammate’s blushes.

Then came her heroics in the shootout.

Berger saved the first penalty she faced, from Amel Majri, and clinched a 6-5 victory in the shootout when she dove to her left to deny Alice Sombath and spark Germany’s celebrations.

That secured a spot in Wednesday’s semifinal against Spain in Zurich.

Berger was part of the Germany squad that lost to England in the final of Euro 2022, although she was an unused substitute. She revealed afterward that she had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer for a second time during that tournament.

Berger managed to beat the disease again and the only outward sign is a tattoo on her neck with the phrase “All we have is now” that she got done to cover the scars.

“I feel like I’m not a really emotional person,” Berger said. “I am glad I’m here and I am glad that I have the team I have.

“Obviously the time here just makes me proud to be here and whatever happened in 2022 is in the past and I am looking forward now to the future and, for me now, I live my best life and I am in the semifinal.”

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Germany's goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger makes a save during the Women's Euro 2025 quarterfinals soccer match between France and Germany at St. Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland, Saturday, July 19, 2025. (Michael Buholzer/Keystone via AP)

Germany goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger celebrates in front of the fans after winning the Women's Euro 2025 quarterfinals soccer match between France and Germany at St. Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland, Saturday, July 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Germany goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger picks up the ball after scoring her penalty during a penalty shootout at the end of the Women's Euro 2025 quarterfinals soccer match between France and Germany at St. Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland, Saturday, July 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Germany goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger makes a save during the Women's Euro 2025 quarterfinals soccer match between France and Germany at St. Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland, Saturday, July 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.

Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.

“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.

"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.

Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.

Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.

Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.

At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.

Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.

Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.

After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.

“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”

Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.

Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.

His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.

“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”

Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.

FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)