A rash of injuries left the Canadian women's team undermanned for its pair of international friendlies this month as it continued to prepare for next summer's FIFA World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Among the six absentees from October's training camp were iconic captain Christine Sinclair and fellow forward Deanne Rose. The casualty list grew to seven after fullback Allysha Chapman picked up a lower leg injury in Canada's opening game against Argentina, ruling her out for Monday's contest versus Morocco.
But the plethora of absences barely slowed down the reigning Olympic champions, who defeated Argentina 2-0 last Thursday and followed that up with a 4-0 defeat of Morocco, with both games taking place in sunny Southern Spain.
With Sinclair and her cohorts unavailable, other experienced players on the fringe of the first team, as well as youngsters who are cutting their teeth at international level, stepped up in a big way for Canada. But the standout performer over the course of the two games was unquestionably forward Évelyne Viens.
WATCH l Viens stars in 4-0 victory over Morocco:
Viens, a 25-year-old from Quebec, made the most of the opportunity presented to her after being away from the team for the majority of this year. Although not credited with the opening goal after coming off the bench in the victory against Argentina, it was her industrious work inside the penalty area that forced a save from the goalkeeper, with the ball deflecting off a defender and trickling into the back of the net.
Deployed as a starter against Morocco instead of Jordyn Huitema, Viens was the sole architect of Canada's opening goal. She expertly intercepted a poor clearance by goalkeeper Khadija Er-Rmichi, went on a probing run down
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Christine Sinclair
Jordyn Huitema