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After a drone was spotted over the New Zealand team’s training session on the eve of the Paris Games, the Canadian women’s soccer team was plunged into unprecedented turmoil. Following the dismissal of three members of the technical team, including head coach Bev Priestman, Canada was handed a 6-point penalty in the group stage… a mountain many considered insurmountable.
As professional athletes, we are trained to expect the unexpected. To be ready to bounce back after conceding an early goal. To be prepared to play a man down.
To expect a 6-point penalty to be handed to you the night before your second Olympic game.
Wait, we weren’t trained for that one.
But somehow it became our reality.
This story is not about what led us to be in such a position. This story is about the players. It’s about 22 hearts breaking simultaneously as they received the news and felt like their Olympic dream was over before it even began. It’s about 22 people sitting together in disbelief, feeling sad, lost and betrayed.
But most of all, it’s about a team that stuck together when things got hard and beat the odds.
A 6-point penalty is a tough pill to swallow. When we found out, we didn’t think we could come back from such a deficit. We thought our Olympics were over. It was a devastating thought. But then we realized that 2 more wins would get us out of our group. The clouds parted, the sun peeked through. We now had a path, and though it was narrow and left no room for missteps, it gave us the hope we needed to fight back. From that point on, the unfairness of our situation took a back seat, and we focused on beating France the next day. Our only way forward.
In addition to being the Olympic hosts, France was also the number two ranked team in the world. But that didn’t matter. Our opponent was not a variable we could control. What we had complete control over, however, was our mentality. We had to have unwavering trust in our own abilities, in each other, and we had to be ready to leave it all on the field. We knew it would be a hard match, but in this tournament, hard was all we knew. As kickoff approached, we huddled together on the field. All 22 players and staff. Our goalkeeper, Kailen Sheridan, gave a powerful speech. Although her words rang true, it was the emotion with which she delivered them that connected us all. What she felt, we all felt, and we would use that bond to fight together on the field.
As predicted, it was a tough match. Down 1-0 at halftime, we had 45 minutes to score at least 2 goals and keep our dream alive. Not an easy task, but again, we were ready for it. Our first goal came around the 60th minute. After that, it felt like our second goal was just a matter of time. We had to wait until the very last minute of extra time for it, but it came. When the referee blew the final whistle, we all ran to celebrate together. There were screams and tears and overwhelming joy. I felt like I was on top of the world, more proud than ever to represent my country. There would be more obstacles ahead, but for now, we had the confirmation that although the odds were stacked against us, we were on our way to beating them.
