Canada's women's soccer team blanks Jamaica in opening match of last-chance Olympic qualifier

Goals by Nichelle Prince and Adriana Leon gave Olympic champion Canada a 2-0 win over Jamaica on Friday in the opening game of a two-legged Olympic qualifier.

The Canadian women had the upper hand for most of the evening and had chances to add to the lead after Prince opened the scoring in the 18th minute. Leon made it 2-0 in stoppage time, celebrating her 100th cap by flicking in a Gabby Carle feed for her 30th career goal as Jamaica pressed for an equalizer.

The clean sheet will be welcome after being outscored 12-5 in the team's seven previous outings this year. Canada 'keeper Kailen Sheridan had little to do in posting her 20th shutout in her 39th appearance, other than a save in the 79th minute on a ball that may have been heading wide.

The second leg goes Tuesday at Toronto's BMO Field, which is already sold out. Away goals score double in the event of a tie, with extra time and a penalty shootout available if needed to decide the outcome.

WATCH | Prince opens scoring against Jamaica:

The game was the first for the Canadians since a disastrous World Cup campaign that saw the team fail to survive the group stage. The Jamaicans, meanwhile, became the first Caribbean country to qualify for a Women's World Cup knockout round, reaching the round of 16 where they were edged 1-0 by No. 22 Colombia.

Canada tied No. 32 Nigeria 0-0 and beat No. 24 Ireland 2-1 before being eliminated in a lopsided 4-0 loss to No. 11 Australia.

The Canadians subsequently fell to 10th from seventh in the world rankings. Jamaica rose six places to No. 37 after beating No. 55 Panama 1-0 and tying No. 5 France and No. 9 Brazil 0-0 to finish runner-up in its World Cup group.

Jamaica is now bidding to become the first Caribbean nation to qualify