Sinclair scores to give Canadian women draw with the Whitecaps
An estimated crowd of around 500 gathered Thursday in the Vancouver suburbs to see hometown hero Christine Sinclair scored a late chip-shot goal to give the Canadian women’s team a 1-1 draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps women’s side.
The two teams played at South Surrey Athletic Park, and the game was as much as a goodwill mission as it was a preparation for coach John Herdman’s Canada squad ahead of their friendly against China next week in Moncton. Autographs were signed, players stayed well after the final whistle. And, admission to the game was free — a gesture to the city that has become the home of the women’s program, and showed its passion during the Olympic qualifiers.
Corradi and Di Vaio could lead oldest attack in MLS
If coach Jesse Marsch decides to start both Bernardo Corradi and soon-to-arrive Designated Player Marco Di Vaio at the top of the Montreal Impact’s formation, the combined age of the two Italians will be… 71.
That’s asking a lot when the MLS schedule gets hectic in July, when there’s two games a week, often played in temperatures in excess of 30 C. It’s the heat and the travel that often gets to many European transplants. Heck, I remember how often new recruits to Toronto FC would comment about the first time they’d play a summer road game in Houston, almost not believing that you could play soccer in those kind of conditions.
As has been rumoured for weeks, the Impact confirmed Thursday that Di Vaio, who has scored 142 career goals in Serie A, will become the first Designated Player in the club’s history. Di Vaio is 35, and is leaving Bologna, where he scored a decent 10 goals and added seven assists in 37 games.
Simpson undergoes surgery: BSC Young Boys releases statement
BSC Young Boys released a statement on Thursday on the status of Canadian national-team midfielder Josh Simpson, who broke his tibia, fibula and ankle in Wednesday’s Swiss League finale.
Simpson set up Young Boys’ first goal of the match in a 2-1 win over FC Basel, before being stretchered off before halftime. According to the match report on the Swiss League’s official site, Simpson is believed to miss at least the next eight months of action, ruling him out of the next round of World Cup qualifying for Canadian national coach Stephen Hart.
