Christine Sinclair scored another two goals as Portland Thorns FC won the 2020 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Fall Season title. Sinclair scored twice from the penalty spot in the title-clinching victory on Saturday 10 October, a Thorns 2:1 win over OL Reign to capture the Verizon Community Shield and a $25,000 grant for Portland business Mimi’s Fresh Tees.
Sinclair has scored more than 300 goals across her international and club career, including Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team, National Championships, the W-League, Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS), and the National Women’s Soccer League. Including a hat trick on 30 September and the 1:1 equaliser on 3 October, she has scored 58 goals across all NWSL competitions, tied for second most in league history.
Sinclair has been captain of Portland Thorns FC since 2013, the NWSL’s inaugural season after the league was created through a joint effort from Canada Soccer, the Mexican Football Federation and US Soccer. The new league was an important legacy to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015, created to provide more professional opportunities for Canadian players than ever before. Across the first eight seasons of the league, already 40 different Canadians having featured across the league’s first eight seasons.
.@ThornsFC put on a show during the #NWSLFallSeries ?Re-live some of the top moments as the club topped the #VerizonCommunityShield standings to win a $25K grant for @tees_mimi ?#NWSL pic.twitter.com/AaUVyrTdWV — NWSL (@NWSL) October 11, 2020
Breaking down Sinclair’s goalscoring records in the NWSL, she has scored 49 regular-season goals, three goals in the playoffs, and six goals across four matches in the 2020 NWSL Fall Series. Along the way, she has led the Thorns to the NWSL Championship in 2013 and 2017, the NWSL Shield in 2016, and now the NWSL Fall Series in 2020.
Before the NWSL, Sinclair scored 11 goals for the Western
\u200bNew York Flash in the WPS, 16 goals for FC Gold Pride also in the WPS, 23 goals
\u200bfor the Vancouver Breakers/Whitecaps in the USL W-League, and also three goals
\u200bwith Vancouver UBC Alumni in Canada Soccer’s National Championships Jubilee
\u200bTrophy finals. Those totals with Vancouver UBC Alumni do not include two
\u200bseasons in the Metro Women’s Soccer League and the BC Cup competitions.
With Canada Soccer’s National Team, Sinclair holds the world
\u200brecord with 186 international “A” goals scored across 21 seasons, setting the
\u200brecord with her 185thinternational goal on 29 January 2020 at the
\u200b2020 Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship. She has also scored six
\u200badditional goals with the Women’s National Team in unofficial or “B” matches
\u200bagainst international opponents.
Her best season was 2012 when she set the national record
\u200bwith 23 goals in 22 international “A” matches with Canada Soccer’s Women’s
\u200bNational Team, including a tournament-best six goals at the London 2012 Women’s
\u200bOlympic Football Tournament. That was the year she won the Lou Marsh Trophy and
\u200bBobbie Rosenfeld Award as the nation’s best athlete after captaining Canada to
\u200btheir first of back-to-back Olympic medals at the London 2012 and Rio 2016
\u200bOlympic Games.
Not counted in her list of more than 300 goals at the adult
\u200blevel are the five goals she scored with Canada’s U-21 team at the 2001 Nordic
\u200bCup and the 22 goals she scored with Canada’s U-19 team in 2002, including 10
\u200bof which were scored at the FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship Canada 2002.
\u200bShe also scored 110 goals at the University of Portland as well as countless
\u200bgoals in various youth and high school competitions, including 11 goals in four
\u200bgames with Cliff Avenue at the U-17 Cup.
Christine Sinclair: 303 goals from 2000 to 2020
\u200b186 #CANWNT full international “A”
\u200b6 Int’l exhibition/unofficial/”B” international
\u200b58 Portland Thorns
\u200b11 Western New York Flash
\u200b16 FC Gold Pride
\u200b23 Vancouver Breakers/Whitecaps
\u200b3 UBC Alumni at Nat’l Championships