In the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Friday morning, the Canadian women’s soccer team willed their way to a historic win over Sweden to capture the gold medal for the country.
In a hard-fought battle, Canada outlasted the Swedes, winning 3-2 on penalty kicks.
“It was a really close game. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, you could tell they really wanted it. They left it all out on the field and worked as a team to win,” Taylor Schmalenberg, a member of the U13 Sinclair Soccer Club said.
The Canadian women’s victory brought elation to soccer fans countrywide, and that extended to some members of the Queen City.
That included members of Futbol Club Regina.
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“Yeah when I saw them win I was thrilled, it was really amazing to see them win gold after the previous years: eighth, a bronze medal twice, and now gold,” Shelby Olson of the U13 Sinclair Soccer Club said.
“I was so happy. Gold for Canada — that’s pretty awesome and it shows girls can do sports, especially soccer,” Jade Olson of the U11 Blue Stars said.
“When they scored the last goal there, we were all cheering, clapping and high-fiving, it was pretty exciting,” soccer parent Kyla Schmalenberg said.
The incredible victory is inspiring a younger generation of aspiring soccer players and has some believing that the gold medal triumph will help to grow the game for young girls in Regina.
“It means so much to the sport of soccer for females, it’s a sport that I think we need to grow. I would love to see it grow and I think this game is going to do that for us,” Kyla Schmalenberg said.
“Yeah, it should be very interesting to see how this grows the club in the next year. But now seeing over the next ten years, the possibilities are just endless just because of what this Canadian Olympic team did for our country,” soccer parent Megan Olson said.