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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, August 25, 2016 | 40 Kevin Nagel Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Matheson, Canadian women's team continues to inspire young players with second Olympic bronze By Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff Proving their medal Sports "Connected to your Community" Four years ago Rebecca Quinn watched the Olympic bronzemedal game from home. As a member of Canada's youth national team at the time, she dreamed of playing for the senior national team. When Diana Matheson scored in the final minute to give Canada a 1-0 victory over France, Quinn cheered along with the rest of the country. "It was huge inspiration for me to see what levels we can reach," she said. Four years later, the 21-year-old Quinn was Matheson's teammate as Canada repeated its bronze-medal performance in Rio, beating the host Brazil 2-1 to again earn a spot on the podium. And while the London bronze may have come as a bit of a surprise, this time there were heightened expectations for Canada. The Canadians, 10th in the world, lived up to those expectations by taking down four higher-ranked teams -- Germany (2), France (3), Australia (5) and the host Brazil (8). "This time it felt like we were one of the top teams and deserved to be on the podium again," Matheson said Tuesday as the team arrived home from Rio. Matheson was one of just six players returning from London. With so few returning players, it was only natural that there was an influx of youth. Nine of Canada's 18 players were 23 or younger, including a pair of teenagers in Deanne Rose and Jessie Fleming who played key roles. "We've been waiting for them," Matheson said of the wave of youngsters. "We've been waiting since Edmonton." Edmonton was the 2002 Under-19 Women's World Championship, where Canada was edged in overtime by the United States. The tournament ushered in a wave of talented Canadian players, including MVP Christine Sinclair, that formed the nucleus of the bronze medal team in London. Oakville Olympian Diana Matheson returns home Tuesday morning from Rio de Janeiro where she and the Canadian women's soccer team won the bronze medal by beating the host Brazil 2-1. Matheson was greeted by sisters Gillian and Clare Kilgour of Toronto, who showed up at the Pearson International Airport at 4 a.m. in anticipation of the team's arrival. | Riziero Vertolli/Metroland One staple of the women's national team that wasn't a part of the Canadian side in Edmonton was Matheson. A member of the provincial program, she was overlooked for national youth teams, playing in just one under-20 friendly. But she worked relentlessly on her own, improved her kicking ability and after getting a chance to showcase her ability, debuted for the senior national team at the Algrave Cup in 2003. Matheson now has four Women's World Cups and three Olympics under her belt. She ranks second all-time in national women's team caps (191), third in assists (20) and seventh in goals (17). Matheson hasn't stopped working as though she's got something to prove, which is a great trait for a team with influential young players who are the team's future. "She's a physical beast on the field," Quinn says of the five-foot tall Matheson. "She can push players around that SEE ALL LOCATIONS & SHOP ONLINE AT BADBOY.CA are twice her size. She shows (if) you work hard there's nothing that can stop you." That's the attitude Canada took into the tournament. Playing the fifth-ranked Australians in the opening game, Janine Beckie scored just 20 seconds into the game as Canada went on to win 2-0, despite playing the final 71 minutes down a player after Shelina Zadorsky was given a red card. Canada went on to defeat Zimbabwe 3-1 and Germany 2-1 to clinch first in its pool and then edged France 1-0 in the quarter-finals. "We made a statement with the wins against Australia, Germany and France. Those are big tier one teams we're beating," Matheson said. The Canadians first loss of the tournament, 2-0 to Germany, relegated them to the bronze-medal game. Playing the Olympic hosts, Canada followed a familiar pattern See Matheson on pg. 41 THIS FRI AUG. 26TH 8AM OAKVILLE SOCCER CLUB NOOO TAX EVENT ONE DAY ONLY! VIP SALE Week Fourteen Photo Contest Winner: Photographer: Yi Zeng Age Division: Bu10 Optimist Club of Oakville & BMO Oakville Beaver A Proud Sponsor of Oakville Soccer Club Sponsored by: