Mia Hamm has some company on the world’s all-time goal scoring list for women’s soccer.
Canadian superstar Christine Sinclair, a Burnaby native and former member of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC women, scored her 158th international goal in Sunday’s 4-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago, which moves her into a tie with Hamm for second on the all-time international goals list.
Abby Wambach currently sits atop the charts with 184 goals to her name.
Sinclair’s goal was what it should have been, a team effort accented by a thunderous strike from Canada’s top scorer, and now the world’s second highest. Marie Levasseur, making her first appearance, put a beautiful long pass onto the foot of Josée Belanger, who out maneuvered a diving defender and put it on Sinclair’s boot in front of the net for a textbook Sinclair finish.
“Sinc led by example, as always,” said Canada head coach John Herdman. “It wasn't easy for her today. The Trinidad team packed the defence and made it tough to get behind them, but we had it clear in our mind that we would get goals today and I knew that Sinc would be on the scoresheet. She found the room she needed.”
“She’s very clear in what she wants: to get results for this team and to keep pushing whatever threshold she can as a striker,” he added. “It's great that she achieved something today, but to be honest I don't think she looks at things like that, she just wants to do well for our team and for our country.”
Canada's road to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio begins with February's CONCACAF qualification tournament.
U-20s win silver
Also on Sunday, Canada’s U-20 women’s side fell 1-0 to the U.S. in the final match of the 2015 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship.
Both teams had already qualified for the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
Whitecaps FC Girls Elite fullback Emma Regan, 15, started and played 75 minutes for Canada in the tournament final – her third appearance of the tournament.
The 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup runs next year from November 13 to December 3 in Papua New Guinea. The 16 finalists are Canada, Mexico, USA, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Japan, Korea DPR, Korea Republic, Ghana, Nigeria, Brazil, Venezuela, France, Germany, Spain, and Sweden.
