By Canadian Press

Canada captain Christine Sinclair breaks world scoring record with goal No. 185

Jan 31, 2020 | 3:49 PM

EDINBURG, Texas — Canada captain Christine Sinclair broke Abby Wambach’s world-record total of 184 goals on Wednesday, scoring for the second time against St. Kitts and Nevis at the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship.

Sinclair’s 185th goal of her career came in the 23rd minute. Left alone, Sinclair converted an Adriana Leon feed for the milestone goal

The record-tying goal came on a penalty kick in the seventh minute at H-E-B Park in south Texas.

Sinclair’s shot rolled to the right of St. Kitts goalkeeper Kyra Dickinson.

The 36-year-old from Burnaby, B.C., was playing in her 290th career game for Canada. Wambach, who retired in 2015, compiled her total in 255 games.

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Wambach saluted Sinclair on Twitter after the recird-breaking goal.

“Christine: History is made. Your victory is our victory. We celebrate with you,” Wambach wrote. “And to every girl coming up in the Pack with a dream to achieve that which doesn’t yet even exist: We believe in you. Your Pack is with you. And history awaits you.”

Sinclair exited the game in the 47th minute with Canada leading 7-0.

The eighth-ranked Canadian women play Saturday against No. 51 Jamaica, a team Sinclair has already scored 11 goals against.

Sinclair, not one to bang her own drum, has downplayed the goals chase.

“To be honest, they’re probably looking forward to it more than I am,” she said Tuesday of her Canadian teammates. “I know how important this tournament is and how important the games are as we move on.

“Obviously I’d like to get it over with — in a positive way,” she added. “Just because I don’t want it to be a focus for the team in the coming weeks.”

Wambach now 39, broke fellow American Mia Hamm’s record haul of 158 in 2013 with a four-goal performance against South Korea.

Sinclair was 16 when she made her senior debut March 12, 2000, becoming Canada’s youngest-ever player at the time. She opened her scoring account one game later, beating star goalkeeper Bente Nordby in a 2-1 loss to Norway two days later at the Algarve Cup.

St. Kitts, ranked No. 127 in the world, becomes the 41st country Sinclair has scored on.

Sinclair scored goal No. 183 in November in Canada’s last game before the CONCACAF qualifier, a 3-0 win over New Zealand at a tournament in China.

Sinclair’s glittering career has already garnered the Portland Thorns captain a slew of honours.

In December, she was named the Canada Soccer player of the decade. Canada Soccer president Steven Reed called Sinclair “a once-in-a-generation athlete that has been at the heart of Canadian sport for over 20 years.”

Sinclair has won Canada Soccer’s female player of the year 14 times and led the Canadian team in scoring 16 years.

Sinclair, who led Canada to back-to-back Olympic bronze medals in 2012 and 2016, was named the 2012 Lou Marsh Trophy (Canadian athlete of the year) and Bobbie Rosenfeld Award (Canadian female athlete of the year) winner.

Canada’s flag-bearer at the London Olympics’ closing ceremonies in 2012, the veteran forward is a four-time finalist for FIFA World Player of the Year.

Sinclair is also the first soccer player appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada and the first to have her name engraved on Canada’s Walk of Fame.

She won WPS club titles with FC Gold Pride and the Western New York Flash in 2010 and ’11 and the NWSL championship in 2013 and 2017 with Portland.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2020.

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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press