Canada Soccer announced on Tuesday that veteran striker Christine Sinclair has won the award for Canadian women’s player of the year for 2018.
Defender Kadeisha Buchanan finished second, and midfielder Jessie Fleming was third in voting by Canadian media and coaches.
It’s the 14th time that Sinclair has taken the honour since first winning it as a teenager in 2000.
Sinclair won the award exclusively from 2004 to 2014. Buchanan broke Sinclair’s streak in 2015, only for Sinclair to win it again in 2016. Buchanan took home the award last year.
A native of Burnaby, B.C., the 35-year-old Sinclair is Canada’s all-time leader in goals (177) and appearances (274). She made her senior team debut in 2000.
This year, Sinclair helped Canada qualify for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, scoring four goals for the Reds at the Concacaf Women’s Championship in October. She led Canada in goal-scoring for the 15th time in 19 years, netting eight goals and tallying two assists in 12 international matches in 2018.
Sinclair also helped her pro club, the Portland Thorns, reach the finals of the National Women’s Soccer Championship. She scored nine goals and finished tied for third in the NWSL with six assists.
Sinclair currently ranks second in all-time scoring in the international women’s game, just seven goals behind retired American forward Abby Wambach (184 goals).
She also won the Lou Marsh award in 2012, the same year she helped Canada win a bronze medal at the London Olympics. In January, she was appointed to the Order of Canada
The men’s award winner will be announced on Wednesday.
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