PORTLAND, Ore. – Canada Soccer today announced that Portland Thorns FC forward Christine Sinclair has been selected as the 2016 Canadian Player of the Year, as voted on by Canadian media (50 percent) and Canadian coaches (50 percent).
Sinclair, 33, wins the award for the 13th time in her 17th year with the Canadian Women’s National Team and in her fourth season with Thorns FC.
The Burnaby, B.C., native was a crucial contributor for club and country as she recorded six goals and two assists in 11 matches (10 starts) during the 2016 NWSL regular season, while helping guide the club to its first-ever NWSL Shield for the best regular-season record. She was named the NWSL Player of the Month for the month of June after recording three goals and an assist in four games and helping the club to a 3-0-1 record. Additionally, Sinclair set a new team record with seven consecutive games with at least one point recorded.
In 18 appearances with the Canadian Women’s National Team, Sinclair tallied seven goals and four assists, including the winning goal in the bronze medal match at the 2016 Olympic Games against host nation Brazil. For her achievements with Canada at the Rio Olympics, Sinclair was named the NWSL Player of the Olympic Games. In 2016, she also won her seventh CONCACAF medal (one goal, five silver, one bronze) after Canada finished second at the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament. She became the world’s second-best goal-scorer with her 159th international goal, and finished the year at 165 goals in 250 career matches.
