Christine Sinclair Thread

[Joe MacCarthy]

Sinclair dons Canada's colours for first time in friendly against Dutch
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/200...467013-cp.html

VANCOUVER (CP) - Striker Christine Sinclair is one of the best women soccer players Canada has ever produced but she has never worn the maple leaf in front of home town fans.

While she is a fixture up front for the W-League Vancouver Whitecaps, she will face international opposition here for the first time Wednesday night in the first of two exhibition games against the Netherlands.

"It's exciting," Sinclair, 22, who is second all-time among Canadian women with 55 goals, said Tuesday. "It's nice to finally have some home games.

"Away games, playing in Europe, those are important but to finally get them back at home, to have our fans out, the little girls out to see that they have a future (in soccer), that's very important."

The second game will be Saturday in Victoria.

The matches will eventually lead to CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean) zone qualifying in November for the 2007 Women's World Cup in China.

The exhibition games follow a week-long camp in Mexico where Sinclair scored twice in a 3-1 win over the hosts Thursday in Mexicali. The teams tied 1-1 on Saturday in Palm Springs, Calif.

"Just to get together to play some quality teams, it's going to improve our team, so come November, hopefully we're peaking," said Sinclair who recently signed with Chelsea of England's women's premier league and led the University of Portland to the 2005 NCAA title.

While Canada has qualified for three consecutive World Cups, zone competition which includes the United States, ranked second in the world, is getting stronger, Sinclair said.

Canada's women missed the 2004 Athens Olympics when they lost 2-1 to Mexico in the zone qualifying tournament semifinal.

"Mexico is a great team now so I think from now on every World Cup-Olympics (qualifying) is going to be a battle," Sinclair said. "It still should be the United States and ourselves.

"We know we can outplay Mexico but anything can happen."

Canadian coach Even Pellerud felt overconfidence crept into the tie against Mexico and is expecting a better effort this week.

"I expect my team to play well every day," he said. "It has been grooming for years and has been together many times and I expect them to perform every day, not every second week."

Pellerud expects the Dutch, ranked 17th in the world, to employ a possession passing game against Canada.

The 13th-ranked Canadians will look for quick counter attacks and stretch the field with crosses from the flanks.

"We need to learn how to defend against a skilful team," Pellerud said."We have consistently good goal scorers with Charmaine Hooper and Christine Sinclair up front and we hope to take advantage of that."

While the Canadians have a good opportunity to be one of the two qualifiers among eight CONCACAF contenders, Netherlands coach Vera Pauw said her young club has an uphill struggle in its European group.

"For us, it is almost impossible," said Pauw whose side has never qualified for the World Cup and is tied for second with France in a group led by England.

Only one from the group will qualify and the Netherlands, which is bidding to play host to the 2009 European championship, has important games in March against Hungary and May versus France.

"These games are important to our main target of 2009 and not so much our World Cup qualification," she said of the matches against Canada. "By playing these games, we are challenged more.

"If we never played these games, we would never make the step to world class, top football."

NOTES: Canada and the Netherlands have played twice before with both matches ending in 1-1 draws . . . The CONCACAF qualifying tournament will be played at yet-to-be-named southern U.S. venues . . . Hooper will earn her 127th cap Wednesday, a record at the senior level for both men and women.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Familiar face returns to Whitecaps
By BOB MACKIN - 24 Hours Vancouver
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/Can...55105-sun.html

A familiar face was back on the pitch with the Vancouver Whitecaps' women's team Monday afternoon.

Christine Sinclair, arguably the top women's soccer player in North America, rejoined the team on opening day of training camp at Simon Fraser University.

Burnaby-born striker Sinclair last played with the team in 2002 when it was known as the Breakers. She went on to star internationally for Canada and led the University of Portland Pilots to a pair of National Collegiate Athletic Association championships.

Work permit woes thwarted the 22-year-old's plan to join Chelsea FC's women's team in England earlier this year, so she trained in Portland instead.

She's expected to start May 13's W-League home opener when the Seattle Sounders Saints visit Swangard Stadium.

"I can't wait, it'll be nice to play again in front of my family," she said.

Sinclair was among 15 Whitecaps at the initial workout, conducted by assistant coach Steve Simonson.

New head coach Bob Birarda was en route from the under-20 national team's Brazilian tour.

The Whitecaps, captained by veteran Andrea Neil, will be looking to dominate the Western conference again despite automatically qualifying for the W-League final four as host of August's tournament.

The 2004 champion Whitecaps were eliminated in the semi-finals last year.

"We're in it to win it," Sinclair said. "Anything less than that is disappointing."

[Joe MacCarthy]

Sinclair back in style
By BOB MACKIN - 24 Hours Vancouver
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/Can...80828-sun.html

Welcome back, Christine Sinclair!

The 22-year-old Canadian national team striker scored twice Saturday night when the Vancouver Whitecaps beat the Seattle Sounders Saints 4-1 in their W-League season opener at Swangard Stadium.

Burnaby-born Sinclair played for Vancouver in 2002 when the club was known as the Breakers.

She missed the last three seasons while she carried the University of Portland Pilots to a pair of National Collegiate Athletic Association championship victories.

A Whitecaps women's record 4,437 fans witnessed Sinclair's hometown comeback.

Sinclair beat Seattle goalkeeper Kelsey Rasmussen in the second minute when she took a ball passed through two defenders by Amber Allen. She also converted Tiffeny Milbrett's corner kick with a header in the seventh minute.

"It was hard not to come out on fire," Sinclair said. "I love playing here, the fans are awesome."

Captain Andrea Neil's 47th minute marker from Lindsay Rohla was followed two minutes later by Milbrett's unassisted goal. The Whitecap newcomer has 100 goals in 203 matches for the United States national team.

Seattle's Shuree Hyatt ended goalkeeper Sian Bagshawe's shutout attempt in the 68th minute on a pass from Tafara Pulse.

WHITECAPS MEN 3 - THUNDER 0

In USL First Division play, Alfredo Valente, Joey Gjertsen and David Testo scored in a 3-0 win for the Whitecaps men over the visiting Minnesota Thunder last night. New goalkeeper Tony Caig got the shutout before 4,556 fans.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Sinclair eyes NCAA award
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/Can...645713-cp.html

NEW YORK (CP) - Canadian Christine Sinclair could add another honour to her distinguished soccer resume.

The striker from Burnaby, B.C., is one of five finalists for the 2006 Honda-Broderick Cup as the top female athlete in the NCAA.

Sinclair led the University of Portland to a perfect season and the U.S. college title, earning MVP honours at the championship tournament. Her 39 goals in 2005 broke the NCAA all-time season mark and 88 points were the second highest in the NCAA for the season.

Sinclair is one of six soccer players in NCAA history with over 100 goals (110) and 30 assists.

The 23-year-old, who was Canada's top female soccer player for 2005, will suit up for the Canadian women's team Sunday when it hosts Italy in a friendly at Toronto's Centennial Stadium.

The other finalists for the Honda-Broderick Cup are Louisiana State basketball player Seimone Augustus, swimmer Mary DeScenza of the University of Georgia, gymnast Ashley Miles of the University of Alabama, and University of Texas softball player Cat Osterman.

The finalists were chosen by a vote of more than 1,000 NCAA member schools. The winner will be announced a press conference Monday. The trophy will be presented by Jackie Joyner-Kersee, who won the award in 1984.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Sinclair wins Honda award as top athlete
By ANDREA ADELSON
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/Can...645713-cp.html

NEW YORK (AP) - Christine Sinclair of Burnaby, B.C., thought she had misunderstood the voice mail.

How was it possible that the soccer standout from tiny University of Portland beat out mighty basketball player Seimone Augustus and superstar pitcher Cat Osterman for the Honda-Broderick Cup as U.S. college's top female athlete?

Even Sinclair found it hard to believe. So she played the message back, and heard the same thing: "Congratulations. You have won the Honda-Broderick Cup."

"I think I'm still in shock," Sinclair said Monday, when she was presented the trophy by Olympic great Jackie Joyner-Kersee at a ceremony at Columbia University.

Sinclair set an NCAA season record with 39 goals, surpassing the mark of 37 set by Lisa Cole of SMU in 1987, and led the Pilots to the NCAA championship. She is one of six players in NCAA history with more than 100 goals and 30 assists.

Still, the forward went to a smaller school (enrolment 2,768) and has a much lower profile than Augustus and Osterman. Augustus led the NCAA in scoring and took LSU to the women's Final Four, winning The Associated Press's Player of the Year award for the second straight season.

Osterman, who won gold as a pitcher on the U.S. softball team at the 2004 Olympics, holds virtually every school record at Texas. She also set the NCAA record for strikeouts with 2,225, becoming the first player in collegiate history to surpass the 2,000 mark.

The other finalists were Georgia swimmer Mary DeScenza and Alabama gymnast Ashley Miles.

"I'm never surprised," said Judith Holland, a consultant to the executive board that votes on the winner. "It speaks to the fact that it's a fair process.

"Really, anyone can win. You don't have to come from a big name school. You don't have to be in basketball. It's what you do on the field, in the pool or whatever that makes the difference."

Picking winners from smaller sports seems to be a trend. Last year, Stanford volleyball player Ogonna Nnamani won. In 2004, Stanford swimmer Tara Kirk won after Connecticut basketball player Diana Taurasi was declared ineligible because she couldn't attend the ceremony.

Sinclair chose to attend Portland because of former coach Clive Charles and as a freshman in 2002 helped Portland win the NCAA championship. But it was a bittersweet moment. Charles had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and didn't have long to live.

"After all the years he coached and winning his first national championship, it just meant so much to him," Sinclair said. "To see his face when he was hugging that trophy, that was perfect.

"I don't cry too much, but after that game, I bawled."

Charles died the following August. But Sinclair never forgot him. This year, Sinclair and the three other seniors on the team wanted to win another championship for Charles, as the last group of players he recruited.

Never did Sinclair think she would set the NCAA single-season goal-scoring record. But coach Garrett Smith had other ideas. Before Sinclair's junior year, he said to her, "I think you can score 50 goals." Sinclair scoffed.

But Smith always thought it was possible.

"Christine's that good," Smith said. "Fifty goals is something that might be unattainable, but at the same time, it was realistic because she's the type of player you can raise the bar for."

Sinclair now has her sights set on playing for Canada as it tries to qualify for next year's women's World Cup and the 2008 Olympics. She flew to New York early Monday morning after an exhibition against Italy in Toronto. Canada won. No, Sinclair didn't score.

Softball pitcher Kristin Erb of Lock Haven University won the Division II award and basketball player Megan Silva of Randolph-Macon College won the Division III award. Swimmer Lindsay Payne of Williams College won the Inspiration Award after overcoming leukemia to star on her team.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Canada's next superstar
By BOB MACKIN -- 24 Hours Vancouver
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/Can...69135-sun.html

Christine Sinclair's trophy case is getting a tad crowded.

Her latest accolade came last week when she won the Honda-Broderick Cup as National Collegiate Athletic Association's female athlete of the year.

After learning she'd won via a voice-mail message, she flew to New York City's Columbia University to receive the award from American track and field legend Jackie Joyner-Kersee.

She arrived home to find she's nominated for top female collegiate athlete in the Lance Armstrong-hosted Espy Awards July 16.

Sinclair has a slew of conference, regional and national all-star and most valuable player citations. Her record-breaking 39-goal 2005 season and national championship victory with the Portland Pilots is the reason for all the fuss. She ended her college career with 110 goals - second-best in NCAA women's history - and joined Mia Hamm and Cindy Parlow as the only players to twice win the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy for top collegiate soccer player. She's also an academic star, who earned a life sciences degree when she wasn't on the pitch.

"Soccer is a team sport, the pressure comes from 'can your team produce?'" Sinclair said. "It's just an honour to win these awards, I had a good season but the highlight was definitely winning the national championship."

As awards go, there are only three on her wish list: W-League championship in August, Women's World Cup in September 2007 and an Olympic gold medal in August 2008. Whitecaps host the W-League final four, but success in the other tournaments in China will rely on Canada winning berths in regional qualifying tournaments.

"I want to try at some point playing overseas, it would be a great experience," she said. "Right now my focus is the national team and Whitecaps. If going overseas has to wait a couple of years, that's alright."

The five-foot-nine striker, a product of Burnaby South secondary, turned 23 June 12. She also played baseball and basketball in her childhood and youth, but she chose soccer because of her knack for scoring goals.

A national team mainstay since 2000, she scored seven times and led Canada to within a goal of winning the first FIFA Under-19 Women's World Championship in Edmonton in 2002. She overcame a bout with mononucleosis before 2003's Women's World Cup in the U.S. and had three goals in Canada's fourth-place finish.

"I've been through a lot as a player, obviously gone through four years of college and played in big games there and gained a lot of experience," she said. "I've become more of a leader because I had to be on my college team. That's a big thing, you mature a lot in four years."

[Joe MacCarthy]

Home victory special for Sinclair
Burnaby striker stars as women Caps take title

Dan Stinson
Vancouver Sun Tuesday, August 08, 2006
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/n...2-64caa9408019

In her heart of hearts, Christine Sinclair remains the girl next door who grew up playing soccer in her native Burnaby. It's what makes Sinclair so endearing in every conversation about her career in the game -- a still-young career that reached another milestone Sunday evening.

Playing in her first W-League final four playoff tournament, Sinclair scored the winning goal and played a part in the insurance tally, leading the Vancouver Whitecaps to a 3-0 triumph over the Ottawa Fury in the championship game at Swangard Stadium.

It capped an outstanding final four performance by Sinclair, who scored twice in the Whitecaps' 5-0 trouncing of the Seattle Sounders Saints in last Friday's semifinal round, finished with a tournament-best three goals, and was a unanimous choice as tourney MVP.

Where does the W-League crown rank in Sinclair's list of accomplishments in soccer? The 23-year-old striker didn't hesitate to answer.

"This is home, so it's pretty important," she said after the Whitecaps ran a victory lap with the spoils before 4,218 fans. "Any time you get a chance to win a championship at home, it's a little more special. This is right up there with anything I've won in my career."

Sinclair won NCAA Division I championships with the University of Portland Pilots in 2002 and 2005, and was twice named the Hermann Trophy winner as the NCAA's most outstanding female player. She established Pilots' and NCAA scoring records in the process, and was awarded the Honda-Broderick Cup as the NCAA's best female athlete earlier this year.

But all of those accomplishments were achieved away from home.

"This one was more fun," said Sinclair. "To be able to look up at the crowd and see your friends and family makes it a little more special. You want to play well in front of the people you know. It gives you a little more satisfaction."

Sinclair finished her first full season in a Vancouver jersey with a Whitecaps-best 12 goals and four assists. But a team effort was required to defeat the Fury in the first all-Canada championship game in the league's 11-year history.

Centre back Sasha Andrews made a major contribution, clearing a shot by prolific Fury striker Amy Vermeulen from an open net in the 17th minute and scoring the Whitecaps' third goal.

The Fury came close to scoring again in the 26th minute, when Vermeulen struck a rising shot into the side netting, with goalkeeper Erin McLeod beaten.

"It definitely would have been a different game if we had scored on those early chances," said Vermeulen, the runaway scoring leader in the playoffs with seven goals and one assist in five games. "We were unlucky not to have scored the first goal. We had the Whitecaps scrambling around a bit and should have taken advantage of those chances."

Sinclair had the fans breathing easier when she opened the scoring in the 33rd minute, toeing home a set-up pass from fellow striker Tiffeny Milbrett.

Fullback Martina Franko scored the insurance goal in first-half injury time, when she pounced on a rebound given up by Fury goalkeeper Leisha Alcia after she blocked a Sinclair shot.

McLeod preserved her second tournament shutout when she made a foot save on a breakaway shot by Fury winger Rhian Wilkinson in the 53rd minute. Then Andrews, who was the Whitecaps' best all-round player in the title game, capped the win with a header goal in the 74th minute.

It was the Whitecaps' second final four championship in three years. The 2004 team fashioned an undefeated record (17-0-1) en route to the title and this year's side was also unbeaten, at 13-0-1.

It was an especially satisfying win for first-year head coach Bob Birarda, who used 38 players during the season because many of his charges had commitments with Canada's senior national and under-20 teams. That list includes Sinclair, a veteran with the senior side.

"It was a great season for Christine and she deserves every honour she gets," said Birarda. "But this was also about our depth. I'm equally proud of every player that contributed to our success."

GOAL DUST: Midfielder Lindsey Patterson's goal lifted Seattle to a 1-0 win over North Carolina's Charlotte Lady Eagles in the consolation game for third place earlier Sunday ... Sunday's final game attendance was the second largest in the six-year history of the Vancouver franchise. The Caps drew a franchise-record 4,437 fans to their season-opening game against Seattle this year.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Sinclair wins academic award
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/Can...759327-cp.html

WALTHAM, Mass. (CP) - Canadian striker Christine Sinclair has added another award to her star-studded resume.

The Burnaby, B.C., native was the runaway winner for the ESPN The Magazine's academic all-American of the year. The award goes to the most outstanding student-athlete in the NCAA.

Sinclair, who led the University of Portland to the NCAA title to cap her college career, received 31 first-place votes from the 84 voters, more than double the total of the other 11 candidates.

"It is a tremendous honour to be given this award. My success in the classroom is as important to me as my performance on the playing field," Sinclair said in a statement. "This is as much a testament to the University of Portland and how it has prepared and molded me into who I am as a person, as it is an individual honour."

Sinclair, a three-time academic all-American, broke the NCAA record for single-season goals this past season with 39. Her 110 career goals rank her second in NCAA history, and her 252 points puts her fourth in the record books. She also set NCAA records for scoring in 17 consecutive games, and for her 25 post-season goals.

Sinclair is coming off a heady senior season, being selected the NCAA player of the year by several college women's soccer organizations, and winning the Honda-Broderick Cup as the collegiate female athlete of the year.

She was among the 24 players considered for the 2005 FIFA world player of the year for 2005. The 23-year-old Sinclair has 78 caps for Canada's national team.

Former recipients of the academic all-American of the year include Stacey Dales-Schuman of Brockville, Ont., who led the University of Oklahoma's women's basketball team to the NCAA championship game in 2002, Chad Pennington (1999-00), and Emeka Okafor (2003-04).

[Joe MacCarthy]

Players In The News
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Sinclair is in the running for FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year!
http://www.canadasoccer.com/eng/medi...?Press_ID=2559

Christine Sinclair makes
FIFA announces World Player 2006 nominees

Ottawa, Ontario - FIFA (Fédération Internationale of Football Association) today announced its 2006 World Player of the Year nominees. Among the candidates is Canadian Christine Sinclair.

This marks Sinclair’s second consecutive FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year nomination. Her name was also on the short list in 2005.

Sinclair is a Canadian soccer phenomenon. Her soccer career has been nothing short of remarkable and her list of achievements speaks for itself:

Named the W-League Championship Tournament MVP in 2006; Canada Soccer’s 2005 Female Player of the Year; NSCAA/adidas Scholar All-America Athlete of the Year; Honda Award Winner; NSCAA/adidas Scholar All-America first team; Soccer America and Soccer Buzz Athlete of the Year; Soccer America and Soccer Buzz first team All-American; CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) Academic All-American of the Year; CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team; CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 First Team; NCAA Today’s Top VIII Award (recognizes eight seniors among all collegiate divisions for excellence both on and off the field); Soccer Buzz West Region Player of the Year; Soccer Buzz All-West Region First Team; NSCAA All-West Region First Team; 2005 College Cup MVP; College Cup All-Tournament Team; WCC All-Academic Team; All-WCC first team; West Coast Conference Player of the Year… The list goes on!

In university, Sinclair rewrote the record books. An Academic and first team All-American, Sinclair’s 39 goals for the University of Portland Pilots in the 2005 season earned her the NCAA single-season scoring record. She finished second only to American Mia Hamm, with 110 goals in 94 games, earning two national championships playing for the Pilots.

First inducted into the Senior Women’s National team in 2000, Sinclair has since played 82 games, scoring a staggering 57 goals. In fact, Sinclair played a massive role in Canada’s strong fourth place finish at the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup, tabulating an impressive three goals.

Sinclair currently wears jersey number 12 for the Vancouver Whitecaps FC who compete in the W-League of the USL (United Soccer Leagues).The Burnaby native, stayed true to her form in 2006, scoring nine goals and four assists in eight regular season matches. She also managed to earn the W-League Championship Tournament MVP in 2006 when she led the Whitecaps to their second W-League Championship in three years.

Needless to say that most will agree that Christine Sinclair is a Canadian soccer superstar.

“Christine’s talent and skills for soccer has been obvious since her first game for the Senior National team as young teenager in Algarve cup 2000, where she scored against power house Norway. Since then she has kept scoring goals and caused all sorts of problems for confused defenders around the world,” said Canadian Head Coach Even Pellerud.

“At this time, she has emerged from her natural raw talent and genuine gifts and is standing out with performance consistency and leadership skills. Her impact on the World cup team cannot be overstated. She is by now the team captain and will lead our team into this fall’s World Cup qualifying tournament as well as into other upcoming international tournaments,' added Pellerud.

'She is clearly one of the more gifted soccer players I have ever coached - Men or Women, and she is a pleasure to work with.”

The winners of the player of the year award will be announced at the 16th FIFA World Player Gala at the Zurich Opera House on December 18th. The lists of candidates for the prestigious awards were drawn up by football experts from different FIFA committees. The Committee for Women’s Football and the FIFA Women’s World Cup, in conjunction with women’s football experts from other FIFA committees, have nominated 20 players from the women’s game. The 30 players from the men’s game were chosen by the Football Committee and the Technical and Development Committee.

The following twenty women (in alphabetical order) are in contention for the title of FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year 2006:

Laura Georges (France), Duan Han (China PR), Laura Kalmari (Finland), Kristine Lilly (USA), Renate Lingor (Germany), Xiaoxu Ma (China PR), Marta (Brazil), Malin Moström (Sweden), Monica Ocampo (Mexico), Cathrine Paaske Sörensen (Denmark), Kum Suk Ri (Korea DPR), Silke Rottenberg (Germany), Cheryl Salisbury (Australia), Lotta Schelin (Sweden), Christine Sinclair (Canada), Kelly Smith (England), Sandrine Soubeyrand (France), Ingvild Stensland (Norway), Cynthia Uwak (Nigeria), Abby Wambach (USA).

The following thirty men (in alphabetical order) are in contention for the title of FIFA World Player of the Year 2006:

Adriano (Brazil), Michael Ballack (Germany), Gianluigi Buffon (Italy), Fabio Cannavaro (Italy), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Petr Cech (Czech Republic), Deco (Portugal), Didier Drogba (Côte d’Ivoire), Michael Essien (Ghana), Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon), Luis Figo (Portugal), Gennaro Gattuso (Italy), Steven Gerrard (England), Thierry Henry (France), Kaká (Brazil), Miroslav Klose (Germany), Philipp Lahm (Germany), Frank Lampard (England), Jens Lehmann (Germany), Alessandro Nesta (Italy), Andrea Pirlo (Italy), Franck Ribéry (France), Juan Román Riquelme (Argentina), Ronaldinho (Brazil), Wayne Rooney (England), Tomas Rosicky (Czech Republic), Andriy Shevchenko (Ukraine), Lilian Thuram (France), Patrick Viera (France), Zinedine Zidane (France).

For additional information on the FIFA World player of the year, visit www.FIFA.com.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Sinclair misses Gold Cup practice
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/200...487903-cp.html

CARSON, Calif. (CP) - A sore left hamstring kept striker Christine Sinclair from practising with Canada's women's soccer team at the Gold Cup tournament Friday.

Sinclair expects to play Sunday when Canada faces the United States in the Gold Cup final, which determines the champion of the region that covers North America, Central America and the Caribbean. "It's not worth getting hurt in practice," said Sinclair, of Burnaby, B.C. "It was a pretty light day anyway."

Sinclair scored two goals and set up another in Canada's 4-0 win over Jamaica in the Gold Cup semifinal Wednesday. That victory also gave Canada a berth in next September's FIFA women's World Cup in China.

The Canadian captain played that game with the sore hamstring. Coach Even Pellerud took Sinclair out of the match in the second half so the injury would not be aggravated.

He's confident Sinclair will be ready to play the Americans.

"We certainly hope so," he said.

"She is normally very good at taking care of herself and nagging injuries. Based on the fact she was OK Wednesday, I'm optimistic."

Also missing practice was defender Randee Hermus. The Langley, B.C., native was sore from Wednesday's game and was given the day to rest.

Canada has a 3-31-3 record in games against the U.S. Canada's last win over the U.S. was a 3-1 decision on Nov. 11, 2000.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Players In The News
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Player of the Week: Christine Sinclair
http://www.canadasoccer.com/eng/medi...?Press_ID=2640


Christine Sinclair

Christine Sinclair has the hopes of Canada pinned on her shoulders. The 23-year old Canadian captain recently finished a seven-week fitness stage at the women’s national team’s residency camp in Vancouver. Like her teammates in camp, she is preparing for the FIFA Women’s World Cup China 2007.

The hopes from her nation end with a gold medal at China 2007, which would be a first for Canada in any FIFA event. Four years removed from a fourth-place finish at the 2003 finals, Canada is a stronger and more experience squad. In 2006 when the team qualified after a 4:0 win over Jamaica, Christine was the leader with a pair of goals in the victory.

Christine is in her eighth season with the women’s national team. She made her debut in 2000 as a 16-year old starter against China in the Algarve Cup. Her debut also coincided with Even Pellerud’s Canadian team coaching debut.

Through 2006, Sinclair has played in 90 games at the senior level plus another 15 at the youth level (en route and at the FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championships in Canada). In her 105 matches, she has hit the back of the net in 53 matches, a mark topped only by former national team captain Charmaine Hooper (54). In 2006, Sinclair was named the Canadian Player of the Year (women’s) for the second-straight season. She was also named Sport BC’s Amateur Athlete of the Year.