Canada's women's soccer team blows out El Salvador in Gold Cup opener

Adriana Leon had two goals and Cloé Lacasse scored one and set up two more as Canada cruised to a 6-0 over El Salvador at the inaugural CONCACAF W Gold Cup on Thursday in Houston.

It was a first-ever meeting in senior CONCACAF play between No. 10 Canada and No. 104 El Salvador.

Jordyn Huitema, Kadeisha Buchanan and Olivia Smith also scored for Canada, which led 3-0 at the half and could have had a bigger cushion if not for errant finishing.

Canada outshot El Salvador 23-3 (10-3 in shots on target) and had 60 per cent possession.

WATCH l Buchanan extends Canada's lead with header:

No. 50 Paraguay edged No. 43 Costa Rica 1-0 in the opening of the Group C doubleheader at Shell Energy Stadium.

Canada faces Paraguay on Sunday and Costa Rica on Wednesday, with both games in Houston.

Thursday's game was played against the backdrop of a $40-million lawsuit filed this week against 15 current and former Canada Soccer board directors by the association representing the Canadian women's team. The lawsuit alleges "negligence and breach of fiduciary duty" by the 2018 board.

Midfielder Jessie Fleming, officially appointed captain earlier this week, led the Canadians out for her 124th cap.

Canada wasted little time Thursday with Lacasse beating El Salvador goalkeeper Idalia Serrano in the third minute. A nice touch by Leon found Lacasse flying down the right flank and the Arsenal striker rounded past one defender and then fired a shot that deflected in off another defender.

The California-born Serrano spent four seasons at UCLA as a backup 'keeper before switching to Utah Valley University.

A Canadian turnover gifted Brenda Ceren a chance in the 18th minute but her shot was stopped by Sabrina D'Angelo.

Canada had chances to pull