Monday marked the end of the road for the Canadian team at the Women's World Cup. Australia's Matildas came out blazing, not waltzing, and solidified their qualification to the next round.
Along with Australia, Nigeria's Super Falcons also move on with the Canadians in third place in Group B. The sounds of Melbourne's Rectangular Stadium that had 27,706 pro-Australia spectators, coupled with the pressure of the game, was enough to motivate the Matildas to show up and work at a level to which Canada tried to match but could not.
It's hard to believe that this is most likely Canadian captain Christine Sinclair's last World Cup. It is certainly veteran Sophie Schmidt's final game with the team as she previously announced she would retire following the tournament.
Invariably momentum was on the side of the co-hosts. A goal from Hayley Raso in the ninth minute set a tone to which the Canadians could not catch up. "Listen, football can be cruel sometimes and tonight it was cruel," Canadian coach Bev Priestman said afterward. "We got punished.