Canada had never won gold in women’s soccer at the Olympics.
That is, until yesterday.
The Canadian Women’s National Soccer Team, under captain Christine Sinclair, beat Sweden in a totally wild gold medal game.
Sweden didn’t make it easy. They outplayed the Canadians in the first half of the match. By the halfway point, they were up 1-0.
But Canada doesn’t quit. They never quit. They came back out in the second half to tie it up. After ninety minutes it was 2-2. Neither team scored in the 30 minutes of extra time.
So it all came down to penalty kicks.
Stephanie Labbé, the goalkeeper, kept the door firmly closed on the Swedes. But Julia Grosso snuck one past the Swedish goalie to lift Canada to gold.
The victory is extra special for Christine Sinclair. She has been the Canadian captain for 21 years. This is her fourth Olympics. She is also the single greatest international goal-scorer ever: she has 187 goals in international competitions, while stars like Messi and Ronaldo each have less than 110.
And now, she has an Olympic gold medal to add to all of her world records.
The victory is also extra sweet after American soccer star Megan Rapinoe’s sour comments about losing to us last week.
“It’s a bitter one to swallow,” Rapinoe said. “Obviously we never want to lose to Canada. I don’t think I’ve ever lost to Canada.”
Well, Megan Rapinoe. Now you have. And we’re going to be celebrating for a long time.
