A pair of local girls got a once in a lifetime opportunity over the weekend at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Edmonton. Leanne Coté and Anika Kryvenchuk, along with 20 other U10 girls from the Lakeland Soccer Club, accompanied Team Canada onto the pitch at the sold-out Commonwealth Stadium ahead of their opening match against China, before taking in the game at field level.
A pair of local girls got a once in a lifetime opportunity over the weekend at the 2015 FIFA Women’ s World Cup in Edmonton. Leanne Coté and Anika Kryvenchuk, along with 20 other U10 girls from the Lakeland Soccer Club, accompanied Team Canada onto the pitch at the sold-out Commonwealth Stadium ahead of their opening match against China, before taking in the game at field level.
The day started early for the girls, who were dropped off at Commonwealth Stadium on the morning of Saturday’ s game. There, FIFA officials brought the girls to a games room to pass the time before game time. Just ahead of the match, the girls were lead down to the tunnel, where they first got to meet the team and the players they would accompany out on to the field. Kryvenchuk was paired up with midfielder Desiree Scott, who won a bronze medal with Team Canada at the 2012 London Olympics, while Coté took to the pitch with 19-year-old defender Kadeisha Buchanan. Kryvenchuk said she was nervous before meeting Scott in the tunnel and heading out to the field, but the soccer star made her feel more comfortable.
“She [Scott] was really nice,” she said, adding that the players all took a minute to ask the girls a few questions before exiting the tunnel. “I was kind of nervous because of all the people.”
After a few minutes in the tunnel they stepped out onto the pitch alongside the national team in front of the 53,000-plus sellout crowd - a record attendance level for the opening match of a Women’ s World cup - at Commonwealth Stadium for the national anthem. Kryvenchuk said the moment filled her with pride.
“I was really proud, because we were out with the players and everyone was looking, and they were all clapping and cheering,” she said.
After the final notes of O Canada played, the girls had the opportunity to take in the game from field level, and Team Canada didn’ t disappoint. With the clock winding down in extra time, team captain and star player Christine Sinclair put away a penalty kick to seal the victory for Canada.
“It was awesome, we had really good seats,” said Kryvenchuk, who added that she watched the players closely to try and pick up some tips, and was happy Canada came out with the win. “I really liked Christine Sinclair’ s goal.”
