Wanderers Grounds hosted a friendly match between Canada and Brazil’s national women’s soccer teams in front of a sold-out crowd of 6,021 on a freezing Halloween night as part of the Christine Sinclair farewell tour.
The first half consisted of each team trading jabs, testing out the structure of their opponent in their second meeting in just four days, with the Brazilians claiming success in a 2-1 victory over the Canadians in Montreal.
The closest either came to scoring was when Marta Vieira da Silva, the Brazilian football legend, sent the ball inches past the far post in the 28th minute. When the halftime whistle blew, the two sides walked back to their dressing rooms tied at zero with all to play for in the second.
Almost as soon as the match restarted, each nation came out hot. In the 60th minute, a freshly subbed in Jessie Fleming sent a perfect pass to Canadian teammate Cloè Lacasse, whose shot was saved by Luciana Dionizio, the Brazilian keeper.
After a spell of attack from the South American nation, Canada finally broke the scoring deadlock on the counterattack. Ashley Lawrence sent a high ball into the box, and Jordan Huitema rose above the rest, heading it into the back of the net in the 70th minute.
Canada dominated the rest of the game, with the cold temperatures clearly affecting the play on the field. In the 89th minute, Deanne Rose received a through pass from Lacasse and promptly slotted it past the keeper, scoring the team’s second goal and securing the Canadian win for the night, sending the crowd decked in red and white into jubilation.
A farewell
Despite the exciting goals, the real party began in the 78th minute, when goalscorer Huitema was subbed off for the long-awaited appearance of Canadian soccer legend Christine Sinclair, appearing in what would be her third last appearance donning the red kit.
Sinclair announced in October that she would be retiring after the December international window. Widely regarded as the greatest women’s soccer player of all time, she holds the record for most international goals scored, by either a man or woman, with 190 and counting.
Sinclair’s impact spreads further than just on the pitch. With her excellent leadership taking Canada to two bronze medals at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, and a gold medal in 2020, she has inspired the next generation of Canadian soccer legends.
Sinclair and her national teammates will return to the pitch in early December to conclude her illustrious international career with back-to-back matches against the Matildas, Australia’s national team.
The games will be held on the West Coast, with the first taking place in Victoria, B.C. and the second in Vancouver, where Sinclair will play her final international match in front of her hometown crowd.
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