More than 50 Canadian women won bronze medals at the World Cup, defeating Australia on penalties Friday in Torrevieja, Spain.
The teams drew 1-1 in regulation, with Canada's Pauline Fischer opening the scoring in the first half and Australia equalizing six minutes before the end of the second half.
The match ended in a draw due to three rounds of penalties before goalkeeper Fatima Harris scored from the spot to give Canada a 2–1 shootout victory.
“We stood shoulder to shoulder holding each other during the shootout and it created a beautiful moment as we ran to Fatima to celebrate,” said defender Negar Faryadnia.
Harris is in contention for the Gold Glove after going three shutouts earlier in the tournament. She also made two stops in the penalty shootout.
Canada finished the group stage with a 3-1-2 score.
The Canadians lost to eventual champions France 1-0 in the semi-finals.
Canada came close to leveling the game on a penalty kick in stoppage time but lost.
This is the first time Canada is fielding a women's team at the World Cup.
“At this point in my life, it means a lot to represent Canada – and our values of peace, diversity and bringing people together – on the world stage,” Faryadnia said.
The Nations Cup, sanctioned by the Federation of International Foot Football Associations, featured teams from 21 countries competing in three men's and three women's age categories.
England won five of the six titles before losing to France in the women's over-50s final.
“The 50s Women's Division demonstrates the global growth of foot soccer as we saw parity throughout as teams looked down on the favored English team,” said Canada coach Greg Mitchell.
