Pride and excitement ahead of gold medal game in women’s soccer

As the Canadian women’s soccer team plays for Olympic gold, few people will be cheering harder than Mallory Outerbridge in Regina.

“I am so excited for them, including (Christine) Sinclair. She’s played so many years for the national team. She was on the national team when we weren’t winning,” Outerbridge said. “Just to see how things have changed over the years, I’m just so happy for her.”

As a former member of the country’s U-20 squad in 2008, she shared a field with many of Canada’s top players. Outerbridge’s career also included time with the Vancouver Whitecaps, where she played with forward Sinclair, an icon in the women’s program.

Canada will play Sweden for gold on Friday morning at 6 a.m. CST. The time of the match was moved so players wouldn’t have to kick off in the extreme heat.

Speaking to the Greg Morgan Morning Show on Thursday, Outerbridge described the anticipation before big games.

“I don’t know if it’s necessarily scary but I know there’s definitely a lot of nerves,” she said. “When the national anthems are playing before the games, I still get goosebumps. I think about pulling the Canadian jersey over my head and what a feeling that is to represent our country.”

After winning back-to-back Olympic bronze medals, Sinclair has said this team intended to change the colour of the medals around their necks. They did so with a victory over the United States in the semi-finals. As far as Outerbridge is concerned, this team has already made history.

“I think anything that happens … everyone’s going to be proud of them,” she said. “Because it doesn’t matter at this point the colour of the medal.”