Christine Sinclair



Christine Margaret Sinclair (born June 12, 1983) is a Canadian professional soccer player for Portland Thorns FC and is captain of the Canadian national team. Sinclair is an Olympic bronze medalist and one of the most prolific scorers of all time.

Sinclair has spent 13 years with the national team, participating in three FIFA Women's World Cups (USA 2003, China 2007, Germany 2011) and two Olympic Football Tournaments (Beijing 2008, London 2012). She is an 11-time winner of the Canada Soccer Player of the Year award and has been honoured by FIFA as a nominee for World Player of the Year six times (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012).[3]  In 2012, Sinclair won both the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada’s athlete of the year and the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Canada's female athlete of the year.[4] [5]  In September 2013, she was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.[6] [7]



Contents
[hide]  *1 Early life  ==Early life[edit] == Born in Burnaby, British Columbia, Sinclair is the niece of former North American Soccer League player Bruce Gant and niece of former Canadian international and NASLerBrian Gant. She played both baseball and soccer growing up. Playing in a Burnaby boys league, she made the local under-11 all-star team as a second baseman. It was here where she chose the number 12 as a tribute to Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Hall of Famer, Roberto Alomar.[8]
 * 1.1 University of Portland
 * 2 Playing career
 * 2.1 Clubs
 * 2.1.1 FC Gold Pride
 * 2.1.2 Western New York Flash
 * 2.1.3 Portland Thorns FC
 * 2.2 International
 * 3 International goals
 * 3.1 Matches and goals scored at World Cup and Olympic tournaments
 * 4 Honours
 * 4.1 Club
 * 4.2 International
 * 4.3 Individual
 * 4.4 Decorations
 * 5 See also
 * 6 References
 * 7 External links

Sinclair was first selected to British Columbia's under-14 girls all-star team at age 11, and went on to lead her club teams Burnaby Girls Soccer Club to six league titles, five provincial titles, and two top-five national finishes, as well as leading her high school team at Burnaby South Secondary School to three league championships. She played for Canada's under-18 national team before making her debut at senior level in the 2000 Algarve Cup, leading Canada in scoring at that event with three goals. ===University of Portland[edit] === In 2001, Sinclair arrived at the University of Portland where she made an immediate impact on an already formidable program. She recorded 23 goals and eight assists in her first season, leading all freshmen in NCAA Division I total scoring. She was named Freshman of the Year by Soccer America magazine,[9]  and was a consensus All-America selection.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">In the 2002 college season for Portland, she led Division I in goals with 26. Her last two goals were in that season's national championship game against conference rivalSanta Clara, the second of which was a golden goal that gave the Pilots the national championship. Sinclair earned three different national Player of the Year honors, and was a finalist for the Hermann Trophy, the most prestigious Player of the Year award in college soccer. She was also West Coast Conference Player of the Year, and was again a consensus All-American. In the wake of her success for Canadian national teams and in U.S. college soccer, she was also named by The Globe and Mail (Toronto) as one of the 25 most influential people in Canadian sports in 2002.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-globe_10-0" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[10]

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Sinclair chose to redshirt in order to play for Canada at the 2003 Women's World Cup. She returned to Portland in 2004 scoring 22 goals that season and was again named WCC Player of the Year, a consensus All-American, and awarded the Hermann Trophy.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-hermann_11-0" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[11]

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">During Sinclair's senior year at Portland, she set an all-time Division I goal-scoring record with 39.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-senior_12-0" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[12]  She capped off her collegiate career with two goals in a 4-0 rout of UCLA in the national title game. This performance also gave her a career total of 25 goals in NCAA tournament play,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-hermann_11-1" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[11]  also a record. She was again named WCC Player of the Year, becoming only the second player in conference history to be so honored three times. Sinclair was also named Academic All-American of the Year by ESPN The Magazine (she graduated with a 3.75 grade point average in life sciences). She also won the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-hermann_11-2" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[11]  becoming only the fourth player and third woman to win it in back-to-back years. As a result of her record-setting season, Sinclair went on to win the Honda-Broderick Cup<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-senior_12-1" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[12] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-honda_13-0" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[13]  as the college woman athlete of the year. She became the third soccer player to win the award, joining Mia Hammand Cindy Daws. ==Playing career<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] == ===Clubs<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] === ====FC Gold Pride<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] ==== <p style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Sinclair was selected by FC Gold Pride with the first pick in the second round (eighth overall) of the WPS Initial International Draft.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-14" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[14]  She became one of the top two available forwards along with teammate Marta as they went on to win the regular season championship.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-15" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[15]  The club ceased operations on November 16, 2010.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-16" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[16] ====Western New York Flash<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] ==== <p style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">On December 10, 2010, The Western New York Flash of Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) announced that they had agreed to terms with the Canadian striker.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-17" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[17]  Sinclair helped guide her team to the regular season championship, leading the club with ten goals and eight assists in 2011.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">On August 27, 2011, in Rochester, she was named MVP of the final as her Western New York Flash won the Women's Professional Soccer championship. Sinclair's goal in the 64th minute gave the Flash a 1-0 lead over thePhiladelphia Independence, and when the game was forced to penalty kicks, Sinclair stepped up and made the second one as the Flash players converted all five of their attempts.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-18" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[18] ====Portland Thorns FC<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] ==== <p style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">On January 11, 2013, as the National Women's Soccer League was forming, it was announced that Sinclair was selected to join the Portland Thorns FC by way of weighted allocation.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-19" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[19]  Playing as team captain, she appeared in 20 games in the NWSL 2013 season and co-led the Thorns' scoring (with Alex Morgan) with eight goals,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-20" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[20]  leading the team to a third-place finish (tied for first on points). The Thorns reached the championship game, where Sinclair scored the final goal in the Thorns' 2-0 victory. ===International<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] === <p style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">In 2002, she scored seven goals for Canada in the Women's Gold Cup, tying her for the tournament lead with teammate Charmaine Hooper and USA's Tiffeny Milbrett, a fellow Portland alumna. She played for Canada in the inauguralFIFA U-19 Women's World Championship. Sinclair's ten goals in the tournament, still a record, helped lead Canada to a second-place finish, and earned her both the Golden Boot as leading scorer and Golden Ball as tournament MVP.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Choosing to redshirt at the University of Portland in order to play at the 2003 Women's World Cup, Sinclair scored three goals for Canada on their way to a surprising fourth place finish, their best in that competition to date. She made her 100th appearance on August 30, 2007, in a 0-0 friendly against Japan. On November 8, 2010, Sinclair scored the winning goal against Mexico in the final of the 2010 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Sinclair scored a hat-trick in a 4-3 extra time loss in the 2012 Summer Olympics semifinal match against the American squad.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Globe_and_Mail_Olympics_21-0" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[21]  Canada were unhappy with the performance of referee Christina Pedersen, who made a series of controversial decisions in favour of the Americans. Sinclair was ultimately fined a reported $3,500 and banned four matches for post match comments, which accused Pedersen of bias and deciding the result of the match before it had kicked off.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-22" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[22]  Sinclair subsequently finished the tournament as top scorer with six goals and led the Canadian women's national soccer team to a bronze medal with a 1-0 win against France on August 9, 2012.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-23" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[23]  She broke the record of most goals scored in the Olympics for women's soccer, claiming the golden boot of the competition from two goals against South Africa, one against Great Britain, and three against USA.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-olym12_24-0" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[24]  Her remarkable effort as team captain and her performance in the semifinal earned her the honour of Canada's flag bearer in the closing ceremony, as well as the Diamond Jubilee Medal.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Flag_25-0" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[25]

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">She made her 200th appearance on December 12, 2013, scoring her 147th international goal in a 2-0 win over Scotland at the 2013 Torneio Internacional Cidade de São Paulo.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-26" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[26] ==International goals<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] == Main article: List of international goals scored by Christine Sinclair<p style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">At the age of 30, she is the all-time leader in goals scored for the Canadian national team. As of December 13, 2013, she is third, behind Abby Wambach and Mia Hamm, in all-time international goals scored by a female player with 147. ===Matches and goals scored at World Cup and Olympic tournaments<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] === <p style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Christine Sinclair competed in three FIFA Women's World Cup: 2003 USA, 2007 China and 2011 Germany; and two Olympics: 2008 Beijing and 2012 London; altogether played 22 matches and scored 15 goals at those five global tournaments.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-fifaps_cs_27-0" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[27]  Sinclair with her Canada teams finished fourth at USA 2003 Women's World Cup, and won the bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics. ==Honours<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] == ===Club<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] === <p style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">FC Gold Pride

<p style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Western New York Flash
 * WPS Championship (1): 2010

<p style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Portland Thorns FC
 * WPS Championship (1): 2011

===International<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] === <p style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Canada
 * NWSL Championship (1): 2013

===Individual<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] === ===Decorations<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] ===
 * CONCACAF Women's Championship (1): 2010
 * Pan American Games Gold Medal (1): 2011
 * Olympic Bronze Medal (1): 2012
 * FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship Runner-Up: 2002
 * FIFA Women's World Cup Fourth Place: 2003
 * 2012 Olympics - Women's Football Golden Boot:
 * Winner: 2012
 * FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship Golden Boot:
 * Winner: 2002
 * FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship Golden Ball:
 * Winner: 2002
 * Canadian Players of the Year:
 * Winner: 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
 * Lou Marsh Award:
 * Winner: 2012
 * Bobbie Rosenfeld Award:
 * Winner: 2012
 * Diamond Jubilee Medal: 2012
 * Star on Canada's Walk of Fame: 2013
 * Honorary degree from Simon Fraser University 2013