A pair of first-half goals were enough to give England a 2-1 victory over Canada in Saturday night's Women's World Cup quarterfinal contest.
Despite a late first-half goal and overall valiant effort from team captain Christine Sinclair, the Canadians just could not dig themselves out of a hole that saw them down by two within the opening quarter hour of play.
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Sinclair gave Canada the game's first chance when she made an incredible run down the right flank that included nutmegs of two separate England players before hitting an inch-perfect diagonal ball across the field to Melissa Tancredi. The Canadian forward took a nice touch to round her defender at the top of the 18-yard box, but she rushed the shot and put her effort way over despite not having any pressure on her.
The English made Canada pay dearly for that miss just three minutes later, when central defender Lauren Sesselmann couldn't control the ball and England's Jodie Taylor pounced on the error around 35 yards from goal. Taylor made a strong run down the middle of the field before cutting around defender Allysha Chapman and slotting the game's opening goal past Erin McLeod.
Canada's nightmare start didn't end there, as England double its lead in the 14th minute. A free kick into the penalty area was nodded off the underside of the crossbar and just across the goal line behind a sprawling McLeod.
The home side started throwing players forward in an attempt to grab a goal before the halftime break, and for the most part the English were equal to the task. However, Sinclair gave her side the bit of hope it needed in the 42nd minute when she pounced on a botched save by England goalkeeper Karen Bardsley following a hard shot from distance by Ashley Lawrence.
The score now at 2-1, Canada headed into the half with a bit of belief that the match wasn't out of hand just yet.
Much of the second half was the sort of cagey soccer that many expected out of the entire game, at least from the English side. Canada controlled most of the play, but finding ways through a determine England defensive set-up proved exceedingly difficult.
The Canadians made rare forays into the final third but didn't do much to test Siobhan Chamberlain, who had to enter the match in the 52nd minute after Bardlsey exited with an eye injury.
Sophie Schmidt had perhaps the best chance of the half at the 80th minute, when she met a cross at the England six-yard box and hammered a volley just over Chamerblain's crossbar.
The final ten minutes was one-way traffic with the home side desperate for the equalizer and the 54,027 on hand at BC Place urging the Canadians on. Josee Belanger, who shifted to right back in the second half, got the final chance for Canada with a well-hit effort from 30 yards out that forced Chamerblain into full stretch just moments from full time.
Unfortunately for the host nation, that was all the Canadians could muster against a resolute England side that didn't give an inch despite wave after wave of pressure. The 2-1 scoreline held up after five added minutes of stoppage time, and Sinclair and Co. were left in tears with the realization that the tournament was over for Canada.