Superstar strikers collide on historic night

Will lightning – rather goal scoring’s magical milestone – strike twice on Monday night at BMO Field? For the first time in women’s international football history, two players will kickoff in the same game stuck on 99 goals – Canada’s Christine Sinclair and USA’s Abby Wambach. The two stars have the opportunity to reach 100 goals on Monday 25 May when Canada faces USA at BMO Field in Toronto.



Tickets to the match, which is presented by Winners, are available via Ticketmaster (ticketmaster.ca / 416.872.5000). Ticket prices range between $15-35. For those fans outside the Toronto area, the match will be broadcast live on Rogers Sportsnet (19.00 ET / 16.00 PT).



On the eve of the big match, the two stars sat down together to discuss the milestone and their goal-scoring success. The interview was videotaped with USSoccer.com and will be available on both federation websites on match day.



To date, only eight players have eclipsed the 100-goal plateau. Four Americans have already hit the milestone: all-time leader Mia Hamm (158), second place Kristine Lilly (129), Michelle Akers (105) and Tiffeny Milbrett (100). The other four are Germany’s Birgit Prinz (122 before this year), Italy’s Elisabetta Vignotto (107) and Carolina Morace (105), and Scotland’s Julie Fleeting (103). Morace, of course, is now Canada’s women’s national head coach.



Sinclair has scored her 99 goals in 129 career matches. Sinclair is Canada’s all-time leading scorer and four-time Canadian Player of the Year. She is also a four-time nominee for FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year. The 25-year old striker is now in her tenth season with the national team.



Wambach has scored her 99 goals in 127 career matches. Wambach would likely have scored her 100th goal last season had she not suffered a broken leg and missed the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament. Wambach is a three-time U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year. The 28-year old striker is now in her ninth season with the national team.



Sinclair has scored eight times in 24 matches against USA. For the record, she has scored five times in seven matches on a Monday night, six times in 10 matches in the month of May, twice in four matches in Toronto, and 10 times in 14 matches played in Canada. Her last goal against USA was in the quarter-final stage at last year’s Women’s Olympic Football Tournament.



Wambach has scored three times in 11 matches against Canada. She scored a pair of goals (one from the penalty spot) in a 6:2 win on 12 May 2007 in Dallas, TX. She was then shutout four times by Canada in 2008.



Monday’s Sinclair-Wambach duel could be one for the ages if both hit the target on the same night. Canada, whose title sponsor is Winners and whose presenting sponsor is Teck, has an all-time record of three wins, four draws and 37 losses against USA. Monday’s game will be the first rematch since last year’s quarter-final stage at the Olympics when Canada pushed the eventual champions into extra time.