It was easy to dismiss Canada’s Olympic hopes last February, during Olympic Qualification. Canada was eliminated by England in the Women’s World Cup, an early exit in a tournament in which they were the hosts was a stinging defeat. That memory still lingered among soccer fans last winter. The response of the Women’s Team was convincing. They would go on to defeat Guyana 5-0, Trinidad and Tobago 6-0, Guatemala 10-0 and Costa Rica 3-1. They would lose only a single game in qualifying, to the reigning world champions, the United States.
Despite their impressive qualification, doubts and scepticism remained.