Sinclair gives Canada opener it deserves at World Cup

Sinclair gives Canada opener it deserves at World Cup Dt5FW6a9x With 50,000 people in Commonwealth Stadium and 35 million more from Vancouver to Halifax screaming her name, Sinclair converted a penalty kick in the second minute of stoppage time Saturday to give Canada a 1 0 win over China in the opener of the Women's World Cup.
"She was walking away from the net," Schmidt recalled. "I was a little concerned she wasn't going to take the penalty." No chance. Sinclair has carried Canadian soccer been Canadian soccer for more than a decade now. She hasn't brought Canada this far only to see it come up short. Not in this game, not in this tournament. Not when the stakes are this high. With 50,000 people in Commonwealth Stadium and 35 million more from Vancouver to Halifax screaming her name, Sinclair converted a penalty kick in the second minute of stoppage time Saturday to give Canada a 1 0 win over China in the opener of the Women's World Cup. More importantly, she gave Canada three points and some badly needed breathing room with the Netherlands and New Zealand still to play in a tough Group A. Of all the goals Sinclair has scored and with 154, there have been a lot none has been bigger. "It's definitely up there. For sure," she said. "Obviously we'll have to see how the tournament pans out. But to get three points for our team in the opening game of the World Cup, it's a good start." Four years ago, Canada finished dead last at the Women's World Cup. But it's been a team on the rise since then, and its bronze medal at the London Olympics three years ago ratcheted up the expectations for this tournament. The World Cup has become a kind of watershed event for both women and soccer, one that could have an impact on both soccer and women for decades to come. Just look at Saturday's game. Sold out months ago, scalpers were on the sidewalks outside Commonwealth Stadium more than three hours before kickoff trying to scrounge up extra tickets. The stands were filled with little girls AND boys, showing their pride in the Canadian women by the flags on their faces and the jerseys on their backs. When "O Canada" was played before the cheap nfl pro bowl jerseys game, fans joined in with gusto, a sound unlike anything the athletes had ever heard before. "The anthem was really powerful," Schmidt said. "I was really proud no one broke down." But a moment doesn't become momentous cheap super bowl jerseys unless something special happens in between, and there was very little of that until Sinclair stepped to the penalty spot. For months, the Canadians have been saying there's no reason they shouldn't be mentioned alongside Germany, the United States, Brazil and Japan as contenders for the Women's World Cup title. But for most of the first 90 plus minutes, Canada looked more pretender than contender. True, China is a tough team to play against, content to drop back and play for a tie. But Canada had several chances and squandered them, including a scuffed chested shot by Sinclair in the 76th minute. Twice it botched clearances near its own goal, with only luck and goalkeeper Erin McLeod's quick reflexes preventing China from taking advantage of them. "It's definitely not the way we planned it to be," Melissa Tancredi said. Except the outcome, and the person responsible for it. Can't do it right in front of the ref, either. When the whistle blew, there was no question that Sinclair was taking the penalty kick. Just as there was no question that she would make it. "Cometh the hour, cometh the woman," Canada coach John Herdman said. " Only one woman was going to step up and write the script in the 90th minute as she did." http://badbeatbremerhaven.de/index.php?forum-showposts-1312
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