Christine Sinclair (‘05), Portland Thorns FC forward and former Pilot, played her last regular season professional club match against Angel City FC Nov. 1 at Providence Park.
Sinclair, who holds the record for most international goals scored for men or women all-time, did what she does best and opened the scoring with a goal in the 16th minute, helping the Thorns clinch an NWSL postseason spot with the win.
Sinclair says that it's the right time for her retirement, commenting in an Oct. 31 press conference ahead of the match that she’s looking forward to spending time on other areas of her life besides professional soccer.
“I still have the passion,” Sinclair said. “I still love the sport, I still want to win, but I’m looking forward to doing other things.”
Sinclair ends her career with five professional championships with three different teams, an Olympic gold medal, two Olympic bronze medals and as an iconic figure in the Pacific Northwest sports community, playing with the Thorns since the league’s launch in 2013.
Sinclair’s journey playing in Portland began much earlier, however, as she entered UP for her freshman season in 2001. That season, Sinclair put up 23 goals and eight assists and was named Soccer America Freshman of the Year. Sinclair stayed successful in her sophomore year, leading Division I Women’s Soccer scoring with 26 goals on the season, helping the Pilots win the 2002 national championship. Sinclair took a redshirt season in 2003 in order to play for Canada in the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup and returned in 2004, winning her first MAC Hermann Trophy Award as a junior. In her senior season, Sinclair set an all-time Division I Women’s Soccer scoring record of 39 goals, with two in the Pilot’s 2005 national championship title game. Sinclair went on to win her second MAC Hermann Trophy Award and the Hoda Sports Award and finished her UP career with 110 goals and 32 assists in 94 games.
During her retirement press conference, Sinclair recalled Clive Charles, the legendary player and coach that Sinclair played under at UP from 2001 to Charles’ death due to prostate cancer in 2003.
“When I think about Clive, I think about approaching the game in the right way,” Sinclair said. “Approaching your teammates, your coaching staff, the opponents, the [referee] — most of the time — with respect…There isn’t one home game that goes by where I don’t look up and see [Charles’] name…”
Sinclair also mentioned UP in terms of the fans that make the argument in favor of Portland as a global epicenter for women’s sports, saying that she’s been a witness to a supportive fan culture since her time at the university.
“The fans here are just unique,” Sinclair said. “I experienced that in university, averaging over 5,000 fans to come watch a university team play, so the fans are what sets the city apart.”
Fans of Sinclair and Portland Thorns FC can catch them in the postseason as the No. 6 Thorns visit No. 3 Gotham FC Nov. 10 at 12 p.m. PST.
Maggie Dapp is the Sports Editor at The Beacon. She can be reached at dapp26@up.edu.
