Joy of playing soccer returns for Canada's Jordyn Huitema after harrowing U.S. home invasion
The smile was wiped from Jordyn Huitema's face as quick as the forward's stride on a soccer pitch.
She was discussing her and the Canadian national women's team's long-standing rivalry with the United States when a Toronto reporter asked Huitema about being victim to a home invasion last month.
With a night off on May 1, the fourth-year member of the National Women's Soccer League's Seattle Reign FC locked all doors of her home in Mercer Island, Wash., at 8:30 p.m. PT and went to bed.
Soon, Huitema heard noises downstairs but the home alarm didn't sound. She quickly entered survival mode, grabbing clothes, her phone and barricading herself in the bathroom by hiding in a locked water closet.
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"I was sitting on the floor with my back against the door and my feet on the toilet, pushing against the door," Huitema, from Chilliwack, B.C., later told the Seattle Times. "But then … there was one person that came into the bathroom with me, and his flashlight was shining, and I could see it going under the door. I knew he was right beside me, and I was just hoping that he didn't touch the door.
"That's when I put my hand over my mouth and nose and was just trying to hold in all the tears, trying to hold in all the sounds, just trying to be as quiet as possible."
Huitema called 911 and eventually reached a dispatcher, whispering details in a bid to stay hidden. She doesn't know whether the robbers realized she was home but was never spotted. They intruders stole nearly $200,000 US worth of belongings, according to court documents.
Weeks later, Huitema and her Canadian teammates