The Canadians won 10-0 and will now play No. 34-ranked Costa Rica Friday in a semi-final that determines whether or not the Canucks will get to defend their Olympic bronze in Rio.
Scott Halleran / GETTY IMAGES
Canada's Rebecca Quinn, left, and Jessie Fleming celebrate Quinn's second-half goal against Guatemala Tuesday night in Houston. Canada won the Olympic qualifier 10-0.
HOUSTON—The magic number for the Canadian women’s national team is zero.
Canada lost no games by giving up no goals en route to winning Group B at the Olympic qualifiers, a title sealed by a 10-0 thumping of Guatemala on Tuesday night.
It’s the first time a non-American team has reached double digits in a CONCACAF Olympic qualification match, fuelled by hat tricks from Ajax’s Nichelle Prince and Toronto’s Rebecca Quinn.
Mission accomplished, says Canadian coach John Herdman.
“What I’m really enjoying about the team — they see it, they say it and then they do it. When you get a group of people like that, that are going to commit even on a night like this, it tells you a little bit about the confidence and togetherness.”
The 11th-ranked Canadians will play No. 34-ranked Costa Rica, who finished second in its group earlier in the week, Friday in a semi-final that determines whether or not the Canucks will defend their Olympic bronze medal come August in Rio.
With one eye on that do-or-die match, Herdman made seven changes to the starting 11 that faced Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday.
For a second match in a row, Herdman started with just two official defenders, Shelina Zadorsky and Kadeisha Buchanan. By they end of the game, they would be replaced by generally attacking midfielders Sophie Schmidt and Diana Matheson.
With Prince, Quinn, Jessie Fleming and Gabrielle Carle all less than 20 years old, the average age of the players who kicked off the match dropped to just under 24.
Canada was off and running within minutes of the start, with a Prince cross from the right teeing up Melissa Tancredi on the six-yard line for the striker’s second goal of the tournament.
It took the side another 20 odd minutes to double its lead. Canada easily maintained possession between the halfway line and the top of the box but lacked that final incisive pass in the box.
It was scorer-turned-provider Tancredi who came up with it in the 27th minute. Guatemalan goalkeeper Alicia Navas parried the striker’s cross from the left and after a couple of toe-pokes, 17-year-old Carle had her first international goal.
From then on, traffic was endlessly directed at the Guatemalan net.
Janine Beckie added a well-redirected volley in the 36th minute, before Prince’s driving run started in the Canadian half ended in a lovely outside of the boot chip into the far corner.
Quinn converted her first international goal just before half, a textbook penalty shot after a handball in Guatemala’s box.
Quinn had her three within seven minutes. She floated a long range shot into the top corner in the 48th minute for her second before powering home a more industrious header in the 52nd minute to make it three.
She isn’t the team’s regular penalty taker but stepped up to the stop as the Canadians looked to share the wealth. Quinn admitted to some nerves as she stepped up, but the Duke University player finished it with a textbook 12-yard pass.
“It was a fun game, I just had some fun out there,” she said following the match.
Prince also completed a hat trick and Tancredi got her second in the final 10 minutes to cap off Canada’s most fruitful outing of the group stage.
Canada will play Costa Rica in Houston Friday evening.
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