A goal by Joëlle Gosselin in the 64th minute granted Canada the 1-0 win over Ireland in its first game of the 2017 Summer Universiade women's soccer tournament in Taipei, Chinese Taipei.
Gosselin, a striker from Quebec City, Que., took advantage of a hazardous pass by an Irish defender to her goalkeeper, intercepted the ball and shot right between the keeper’s legs.
“Just setting foot on the field to represent Canada is special. Scoring the winning goal is even better!” said the hero of the match. “I literally jumped for joy! Then I looked at the scoreboard and saw that there were only 25 minutes left, so I knew we could get the win.”
Since there are only three teams in Pool B, head coach Peyvand Mossavat’s squad have placed themselves in a good position, with Ireland and Mexico having drawn yesterday.
“If it was a tie, then we would have been in trouble for the next game. Potentially a three-way tie and we could have been eliminated. We knew we had to come out on top and the girls did a fantastic job. All the credit to them for working hard for 90 minutes,” said the women’s soccer team head coach.
Canada, who dominated Ireland 9-5 in shots on goal, now lead the Pool B standings with three points, two more than Ireland and Mexico.
“We still learned a few things from the first game. We’re going to build on that and try to correct certain aspects of our game for the next match,” added Mossavat.
The Canadian women's soccer team will play its next game against Mexico on Tuesday, August 22nd at 4:00 am EDT (Eastern Time).
Follow Team Canada on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram: @USPORTSintl