Aug. 19, 2016
By Joanne Norell
RIO de JANEIRO — Former University of Notre Dame women’s soccer forward Melissa Tancredi became a two-time Olympic medalist Friday as she helped lead Canada to bronze in a 2-1 victory over Brazil for Canada’s second straight third-place Olympics finish.
Canada, which entered the Rio Olympiad as one of the favorites to medal, posted a 5-1 record during the tournament, only falling to Germany in the Olympic semifinal. Canada was otherwise dominant, outscoring opponents 9-5 en route to the country’s second ever medal finish.
🏅TANCREDI TAKES BRONZE🏅@NDSoccer‘s Melissa Tancredi wins 2nd Olympic #bronze medal for Canada.#CAN 2 | #BRA 1 pic.twitter.com/WvYYKqZ8CO
— The Fighting Irish (@FightingIrish) August 19, 2016
Canada snared their lead in the first half as Deanne Rose fired a shot past goalkeeper Barbara in the 25th minute at the end of a breakaway run by Ashley Lawrence, who got the assist. They padded their lead in the 52nd minute when Christine Sinclair broke free from the defense and buried a shot off an assist from Rose.
Brazil got on the board late in the second half with a goal from Beatriz in the 80th minute, snapping a 412-minute scoring drought for the host nation.
#CANWNT #Rio2016 #CanadaRED pic.twitter.com/G0uAr7Syjw
— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) August 19, 2016
Tancredi made her fifth start in six Olympic games. She tallied two goals during Canada’s 5-1 run, both coming in an historic 2-1 victory over Germany (Canada’s first in history) in a preliminary match to win Group F and becoming the oldest goalscorer in an Olympics matchup at 34 years, seven months and 14 days.
Tancredi, who has said she will retire following the 2016 season, has played with the Canada women’s national team since 2004. In 2007, she scored the fastest goal in World Cup history at the time just 37 seconds into a game against Australia. She won a bronze medal with Canada at the 2007 Pan American Games, in addition to the Olympic bronze the team claimed at the 2012 Games in London.
— ND —
Joanne Norell, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2014 and coordinates communications efforts for the Notre Dame women’s soccer, men’s tennis, women’s tennis and fencing programs. Norell is a 2011 graduate of Purdue University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communication, and earned her master’s degree in sports industry management from Georgetown University in 2013.