Christine Sinclair

In 2001, Sinclair arrived at the University of Portland where she joined the soccer program. She recorded 23 goals and eight assists in her first season, leading all first-year students in NCAA Division I total scoring. She was named Freshman of the Year by Soccer America, and was a consensus All-America selection.

During her second season with the Pilots in 2002, Sinclair led Division I in goals with 26. She scored two goals during the national championship game against conference rival Santa Clara, the second of which was a golden goal that won the Pilots the national championship. Sinclair earned three different national Player of the Year honours, and was a finalist for the Hermann Trophy. Named West Coast Conference Player of the Year, she earned All-American honours for the second consecutive year. Following her performances for the Canadian national teams and American collegiate soccer, she was named by The Globe and Mail as one of the 25 most influential people in Canadian sports the same year. Sinclair chose to redshirt the 2003 season to play for Canada at the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup. She returned to Portland in 2004 and scored 22 goals for the Pilots. Following the season, she was named West Coast Conference (WCC) Player of the Year, received All-American honours, and was awarded the Hermann Trophy. During Sinclair's senior year at Portland, she set an all-time Division I goal-scoring record with 39. She capped off her collegiate career with two goals in a…

Early career

Sinclair started her senior career as a teenager with Vancouver UBC Alumni where she won Metro Soccer League titles, the BC Cup, and a runners up medal at Canada Soccer's 2000 National Championships. She played youth soccer and high school soccer at the same time and got her first call up to Canadian youth team in 1999. She also played for the Vancouver Angels in the Women's Premier Soccer League (2000) and the Vancouver Breakers / Vancouver Whitecaps in the USL W-League. In 2000, Sinclair helped the Vancouver Angels finish in fourth place in the WPSL, although she missed the first few matches of the season while representing Canada at the 2000 Concacaf Gold Cup. She scored her first WPSL goal on 15 July 2000 in a 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Ajax at Coquitlam Town Centre.

FC Gold Pride

Sinclair was selected by FC Gold Pride eighth overall in the 2008 WPS International Draft for the inaugural season of top-tier American league Women's Professional Soccer (WPS). Despite her team-leading six goals, FC Gold Pride finished last in the regular season standings during the 2009 season. Leading into the 2010 season, FC Gold Pride made several changes to their roster including adding Brazilian international Marta, French international Camille Abily, and United States national team defender and midfielder Shannon Boxx. During the team's home opener of the 2010 season against 2009 WPS champion, Sky Blue FC, Sinclair scored twice leading the team to a 3–1…

Early years and rise to captaincy (2000–2007)

Sinclair played for Canada's under-18 national team before she got her first call up to the national team in early 2000 under newly-hired Head Coach Even Pellerud. She scored her first (unofficial) Canada goal in an exhibition match against the Metro League All-Stars. She then travelled with the squad to the 2000 Algarve Cup where she was the tournament's co-second leading scorer with three goals. She scored seven goals for Canada at the 2002 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup, tying her for the tournament lead with Canadian team captain Charmaine Hooper and US player Tiffeny Milbrett, a fellow Portland alumna. Canada finished second at the Gold Cup, qualifying them to the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup. The same year, Sinclair represented Canada at the inaugural FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship. Her record-setting ten goals in the tournament helped lead Canada to a second-place finish and earned her both the Golden Boot as leading scorer and Golden Ball as tournament MVP. Canada's FIFA Women's World Cup squad for the 2003 edition in the United States was subsequently remembered for its mix of veteran players like Hooper and younger members like Sinclair, Diana Matheson, and Erin McLeod. During the team's first group stage match against Germany, she scored the first goal of the match in the fourth minute. Germany scored four goals to defeat Canada 4–1. After defeating Argentina 3–0, the team faced Japan in their last group stage…

Born in Burnaby, British Columbia, to Bill and Sandra Sinclair on June 12, 1983, Sinclair began playing soccer at the age of four for an under-7 team. Her father Bill Sinclair (1972) and uncles Brian (1972) and Bruce Gant (1990) were all Canadian amateur soccer champions while Brian and Bruce also played at the professional level. Her father Bill played for the University of British Columbia and the New Westminster Blues in the Pacific Coast Soccer League. Christine Sinclair also played basketball and baseball as a youth. Playing in a Burnaby boys' baseball league, she made the local under-11 all-star team as a second baseman. With the team, she chose the number 12 as a tribute to Toronto Blue Jays' second baseman Hall of Famer, Roberto Alomar. Sinclair was selected to British Columbia's under-14 girls all-star soccer team at age 11 and led club team Burnaby Girls Soccer Club to six league titles, five provincial titles, and two top-five national finishes. She attended Burnaby South Secondary School where she led the soccer team to three league championships. At age 15, she attended matches of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup in Portland, Oregon. She played for Canada's under-18 national team before making her debut at the senior level at age 16 at the 2000 Algarve Cup where she scored three goals.