Thank God for the girls...

[badams]

because our Men's team is a mess...

CANCUN, Mexico -- Captain Christine Sinclair scored on a second-half penalty as Canada capped off a flawless campaign at the CONCACAF World Cup qualifier Monday night, defeating Mexico 1-0 in the final.

There was little more than bragging rights on the line, given both teams had booked their places in the 2011 Women's World Cup by winning their semifinals. Still, the Canadians had to survive their stiffest test of the tournament.

Canada blanked Mexico 3-0 when they met in the opening group stage but the hosts offered stiffer resistance this time until Sinclair broke the deadlock following a wild sequence in the Mexican penalty box.

As a result, the Canadian women and coach Carolina Morace leave the Mexico resort as champions of Central and North America and the Caribbean.

Canada did it in style, winning all five games at the tournament while outscoring its opposition 17-0

Canada also claimed the CONCACAF championship in 1998, defeating Mexico 1-0 in the final. The U.S. did not contest that tournament since it hosted the '99 World Cup.

Earlier Monday, the U.S. kept its World Cup dreams alive by beating Costa Rica 3-0 in the third-place game. The American women advance to face Italy in a two-leg playoff in late November.

Canada, ranked 13th in the world, beat No. 47 Costa Rica 4-0 in one semifinal while No. 22 Mexico shocked the top-ranked Americans 2-1. The United States had won 24-of-25 previous meetings with Mexico, outscoring them 106-9.

It was the first loss for the U.S. in 35 games and more than two years.

Perhaps buoyed by that result, Mexico came out full of confidence Monday, looking to pressure the Canadians when they had the ball.

Still Canada had the first chance, hitting the crossbar in the sixth minute on a looping Melissa Tancredi header off a long free kick. Erika Vanegas, one of three goalies the Mexicans have used in the tournament, may have got a hand on the ball.

Canada began to take control after an even 20 minutes.

Sinclair forced a fine save from Vanegas in the 21st minute on a Mexican defensive miscue. The Canadian captain dispossessed defender Natalie Vinti and fired a left-footed shot which a diving Vanegas palmed away.

At the other end, the Mexicans probed the Canadian defence but didn't manage to threaten until the 38th minute when an alert Karina LeBlanc had to deflect a raking cross from Maribel Dominguez.

A Canadian shout for a penalty was ignored in the 41st minute when Josee Belanger went down in the box. Belanger went down after contact with Vinti but apparently it was deemed accidental.

Not willing to roll the dice any further, Mexican coach Leonardo Cuellar immediately substituted Vinti.

LeBlanc stopped a shot from Dominguez in the 49th after the striker battled defender Candace Chapman.

The breakthrough came after a 52nd-minute corner. A Sinclair shot deflected off a defender to Sophie Schmidt, who hammered the ball off the post. It went to Belanger who fired back a high shot on target that Mexican defender Veronica Perez, making like a goalie, pushed over the bar.

Peter was sent off for handball and Sinclair slotted home the penalty in the 54th minute. It was her sixth goal of the tournament and the 108th of her international career.

Canada had a chance to make to 2-0 in the 82nd but Tancredi could not convert a fine cross from the left.

Canada came into the game with a 5-0-0 record against Mexico in the finals of a CONCACAF women's championship or World Cup qualifying competition. Mexico, meanwhile, was unbeaten in nine of its last 10 games at home in World Cup qualifying matches.

Canada is looking forward to its fifth straight FIFA Women's World Cup, missing out only on the inaugural competition in 1995 when the U.S. was the lone CONCACAF representative.

Mexico will be taking part in its second Women's World Cup.

[Schwa.]

the title of this thread is entirely misleading.

:whyyou:

[Booche]

Hahaha, he might as well just posted this:

[Schwa.]

and then to have it be about soccer is a real kick in the balls.

[badams]

Hahaha, he might as well just posted this:

It's cute that you still have pictures from your Formal in 1986... your date was a real looker.

[Jaimoe]

Our formal was in '87. Don't add any years onto us '68ers.

[Thorgnor]

Somehow I was expecting something more along these lines...

or this maybe?

Edited November 12, 2010 by Guest

[Booche]

Our formal was in '87. Don't add any years onto us '68ers.

I brought the wrong bint based on those pics.

I spent a good chunk at the end of the formal night in the bathroom of my hotel room smoking copious amounts of weed and thinking I was hiding it from my date.

"Hey baby, you got enough ::coughcough:: champagne? ::coughcoughcoughcoughcoughcough:: I'll be out in a minute::cough::"

Hey DB2.0 or Jaimoe, dont bother asking which date because I am absolutely unsure. Actually, it was probably both chicks in back to back years so Vegas would pay a good parlay on that one.

[Jaimoe]

I remember going out for my formal dinner and when the waiter asked me if I wanted a drink, I asked for a "beer". I guess I should have specified what kind of beer I wanted.