Christine Sinclair has one of the most impressive soccer resumes of any player in the sport’s history. But it will likely be her 304th cap representing Canada on Friday that will go down as one of her most memorable experiences.
The 8th ranked Canadian women entered the Olympic gold medal final with a 5-14-4 all time record against Sweden. The Swedes captured silver in the 2016 Rio Olympics and much like their Canadian counterparts were “hoping to change the colour” of the hardware they’d be bringing home from Tokyo.
Still riding high from their 1-0 victory over their American rivals, team Canada looked poised pre-game, focused on finishing what they felt should have been rightfully theirs in 2012. Yet it was Sweden who for long stretches in the early going controlled the play and had the Canadians on their heels.
The Canadian women had never before reached the finals of an Olympic soccer tournament, and their tentative play in the first half had some wondering whether the stage was proving to be too much for some of the younger players in red and white. But the steady play of goaltender Stephanie Labbé kept the Canucks in it throughout as they weathered the early Swedish attacks and responded with a renewed effort in the second half.
The two teams traded goals with Sweden’s Stina Blackstenius scoring in the 34th minute, and Canada’s Jessie Fleming scoring the equalizer from the penalty spot in the 67th minute. Like many of Canada’s Olympic soccer experiences of late, the real drama began after regulation came to a close.
After a scoreless extra frame solved nothing, Olympic gold would come down to penalty kicks. Both goaltenders would make a series of impressive saves, setting up Swedish captain Caroline Seger with a chance to win it. But while Labbé guessed wrong on her dive attempt, Seger was forced to watch helplessly as her kick sailed just over the crossbar. Labbé then made another stellar save to set up Julia Grosso for the golden kick and she did not disappoint.
The gold medal marks the first time Canadian women have won at the Olympic level and follows a bronze medal in 2016, and a controversial bronze in 2012. The Americans captured bronze earlier today 4-3 over Australia.