Matheson powers Canada to 1-0 victory over France and bronze medal at Summer Olympics
By The Nelson Daily Sports
It’s official.
Canada has won its first medal in a traditional team sport in the Summer Olympics since the 1936 games in Berlin.
Diana Matheson scored in extra time, blasting a rebound in the vacant goal to give Canada a 1-0 victory over France in the bronze medal match Thursday at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England.
Out shot by a staggering 25-2 margin, including a couple of saves by the posts and crossbar behind Canadian keeper Erin Macleod, Canada saved its best for last.
With regulation time running out, Canada made a final push at the France net.
Canadian midfielder Sophie Schmidt broke in on goal before firing a shot at the French goal that was stopped by keeper Sarah Bouhaddi.
However, Bouhaddi could not corral the rebound which came right to Matheson.
The 28-year-old Canadian midfielder made no mistake, blasting the ball into the vacant net for her only goal of the tournament.
The victory made up for the heartbreaking 4-3 overtime loss Canada suffered during the semi finals against the United States.
In that game, with Canada leading 3-2 on three goals by Christine Sinclair, Norwegian referee Christina Pedersen called Erin Macleod for a six-second violation.
On the ensuing free kick by Megan Rapinoe, Pedersen then whistled Canada for a hand ball inside the box Abby Wambach quickly converted for the tying goal.
The USA, which plays Japan for the gold medal, then won the game in the final seconds of extra time on a goal by Alex Morgan.
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