Re-Cap of Women's Olympic Qualifying Games So Far..Day 1

JANUARY 19, 2011

Costa Rica vs Cuba 2-0
Canada vs. Haiti 6-0

So, the first day of the tournament kicked off on Thursday evening with a double header.  It was Costa Rica vs Cuba.  I got the stadium at 2pm as I was scheduled to work til the end at 10pm.  There wasn't much to do at 2pm so we sat around and waited for a bit and chatted with other volunteers until it was time to get my team organized and head on up to the area we were working that day.  My area is Hospitality and I am a Team Leader.  My crew and myself meet and greet the VIP's of the tournament in the Hospitality area and help them find their way to their suites, bathrooms and concession areas.  We also try to answer any questions they may have.  Its a fairly easy and simple job compared to the other volunteers at the event.  Smile and be Friendly.  That's it.

So, at 3:50pm, 10 mins before doors opened to the public, I took my crew of three and headed on up to the other side of the stadium where the Hospitality suites are located.  I showed them how to get there from the bowels of the stadium and thru the 2nd floor concourse where the concessions were and up the ramp to our suites.  The doors opened at 4pm and we waited for the VIPs to come streaming in.  This, however, was not the case.  We waited and waited and then waited some more.  A few people showed up eventually towards the start of the match and we were more than happy to show them to their seats and to their suites.  Then more started to trickle in.  So once the match started, we all sat and watched it unfold on the tv screens provided outside the suites.  We were also able to take sneak peeks at the match from the tunnels standing next to the Ushers.

First up was Costa Rica vs Cuba.  We didn't know much about these two teams other than they have the same colors in their flags and they like to play soccer.  So this was interesting to watch.  Costa Rica won the match 2-0.  It wasn't a blowout but they were able to play and defend with great skill. They both had a decent showing of fans.  Not a whole lot, but the diehards did come out. Which was really nice to see.  Goals in this match came from Saudy Rosales and Wendy Acosta.

The VIPs were starting to come in a little faster throughout the last half of the first match.  These were the people who were there to see the Canada vs. Haiti match up.  The suites were filling up fast after the first match ended.  There was a 30 min break between the two matches.  I ran into a few Whitecaps Managers I know quite well who also came to see the Canada match.  It was great seeing my current and former team leads again.  I'll be working with them again come March. After some catching up, they headed off to their Whitecaps Suite.

Then the match started. It was obvious early on that Canada was the stronger team.  They had ball possesion almost throughout. Canada won this match with a blowout score of 6-0.  Christine Sinclair was the star of the show.  She had the Canadian team up 3-0 going into the second half of the match.  She got her fourth goal at the 55 minute mark.  The other two goals came from Christina Julien and Kelly Parker.  The dejected Haitian team didn't put up much of a fight in the second half as they knew they were being outplayed by Canada.  I'm sure they were just hoping the match would end soon for them.

If things weren't bad enough for Haiti, it just got worse.  There was a collision with their goaltender, Ednie Limage and teammate Samantha Brand in the second half.  Limage was carried off the pitch on a stretcher and later taken to Vancouver General Hospital where she stayed overnight.  Reports seem to indicate that she has suffered a spinal cord injury. She was unable to move her legs last night but has since regained some of the feeling back this morning.  She is still recovering at VGH and is speculated not to return to the tournament.  Wishing Limage a speedy and healthy recovery.  You never want to see a player go down this way. 

In the pictures above by the Vancouver Sun, you can see Limage colliding with her teammate Brand.

So that was how the first day ended.  There were 7,600 in attendance to watch Canada and Haiti play.  The Whitecaps SouthSiders were also there to support the Women's team.  They were all placed in their regular seating area and they came armed with re-worded song sheets to cheer on Team Canada.  Instead of Blue and White, they all donned their Red and White.  They even sang O'Canada TWICE!!  The crowd was energetic and fun.  It was a great match and it was even nicer to see so many people come out and support the Women's team.  Hopefully, the numbers will grow as the team makes their push towards their goal on the 29th!