Today's match against Haiti was a fun one to watch and there were   7,627 fans to enjoy the match..  I followed most of the game in an Club level seat in the BC Place stadium along with some of our staff in charge of video.  This was a new experience for me, and while it was interesting to see our video crew in action, i can't say it's my favorite spot to be during a match.  I found sitting out a little stressful, and this feeling remained until we put a few goals in the net.

My upper level did offer some great views of the game though.  We knew we had to start strong and put the game away early against Haiti.  It could easily have been one of those games where the longer you go without scoring a goal the more stressed out and impatient you become and then things can go wrong.

 

We came out of the gates strong though, and scored our first goal fairly early when Christina Julien calmly finished a nice pass across the box from Parker, taking on a run and pass from Rhian. After that, Christine Sinclair put her stamp on the game with the next four goals.  That's far too many goals for me to remember exactly how they all went in, but I have the distinct impression that they were nice goals. 

 

The one that stands out for me was also the CIBC Goal of the Match. At 24 minutes, Melissa Tancredi received the ball in the air, took a touch and then volleyed the ball over her head to Sincy overlapping her. 

 

Sincy calmly finished her third goal after a clever interplay of passes.  She topped up for number four on a penalty that was earned on a great passage of play down the middle, finished off with Kelly Parker being brought down in the box. 

 

Finally Parker put one away herself, slotting home a rebound from her original shot, to make the score 6-0. The score could have been higher but for the heroics of the Haitian goalkeeper. 

I must admit I have mixed feelings about Sinc's goals, as we have a bit of a competition going.  You see, right around the time I earned my 100th cap for Canada, Sinc had to go and one-up me by scoring her 100th goal, a much more difficult feat.  We then decided to make a race out of it: Her goals vs. my caps. 

 

I had managed to get a bit of a lead heading into this tournament and was 11 ahead, but she now seems to be taking full advantage of my time off the field, and I now lead by only 7. I had better come back soon!
 

Back to the game though: It was a strong start to the tournament, and the performance has set the tone for the coming games. We can continue to build momentum from here.  Everyone is now focusing on recovery after the game and refocusing on our next opponent!