Burnaby superstar Christine Sinclair saved the day in Canada’s opening day win over Mainland China at the 2015 Women’s World Cup.
Sinclair scored the game-winning goal in added time off a penalty kick to Canada’s national women’s soccer team a 1-0 win over China before more than 53,000 supporters at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton on Saturday.
Canada had the best of the play in the opening 15 minutes of the game, but China tightened up in their zone and later had chances of their own, including a free kick that rattled off the posts behind keeper Erin McLeod.
After 90 minutes of scoreless soccer, the goal for Canada came on a foul to Adriana Leon in the penalty area by Zhao Rong. Sinclair calmly scored in the bottom left corner of the goal beyond the Chinese keeper’s reach.
“The Chinese sat back and challenged us to come at them, and finally something went our way,” said Canada’s player of the match Sophie Schmidt in a Canada Soccer press release. “Then Sincy (Sinclair), Oh captain, my captain, came through and I’m just glad she put that in.”
Canada next plays on Thursday, when it meets New Zealand in Edmonton. The Canadians will then travel to Montreal for their final group match against the Netherlands on June 15.
