lso Tuesday, No 9. seed Lucie Saf
lso Tuesday, No 9. seed Lucie Saf
encounter with Germany - a team which certainly captured the eye in Tuesdays earlier game at Olympic Stadium. The Germans were effortless as they stroked in goal after goal past a hapless and unrecognizable Brazil. Where, I wonder, have we heard that before? Edmonton is sure to evoke and rekindle those extraordinary scenes and memories from the FIFA U-19 Womens World Championship in 2002. That was when, on the back of 10 goals and an MVP performance from Christine Sinclair, the host nation made it all the way to the final. Four Canadians made it onto the All-Star Team. Matched against our best football friends to the south in that final, it seemed we were heading for penalties until eventually becoming unstuck in the second half of extra time - courtesy of a Lindsay Tarpley winner. In doing so, the 2002 U-19 final sowed the seeds for the biggest global rivalry in the womens game. This was on clear display at that now infamous London 2012 semifinal at Old Trafford. Five of those Sinclair goals in 2002 came against England in the quarterfinal at Commonwealth Stadium. A crowd of just over 23,000 was in attendance then. A spike in the box office occurred after Tuesdays North Korea victory, with sales for the Germany quarter final already surpassing the 16,000 mark. So were already guaranteed this will be the largest crowd of Canada 2014 so far. Runners up in 2012 and champions in 2010, Germany - along with the French - are the two standout teams of the tournament. Stopping their trio of goal scorers in Diebritz, Bremer and Pamfil - who have already found the back of the net 11 times in only three matches - is a large part of the task that awaits our ladies. Park the bus, Andrew Oliviera will not. We have a trio of stardust ourselves in Kadeisha Buchanan, Nichelle Prince and Janine Beckie. These players especially have been instrumental in that extraordinary turnaround in our fortunes, since halftime against Finland last Friday. Make no mistake - if we advance, it will be against the odds. Our so-termed 12th Player at Commonwealth Stadium has a significant role to play. If Tuesdays final group stage game provided me with abiding memories, imagine what it could be like at Olympic Stadium in Montreal next Wednesday night. A possible Canada-France semifinal matchup exists. Imagine that for a moment. Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca @TheSoccerNoel on Twitter Edinson Volquez Jersey . Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB Doug Martin broke the news that hes cleared for full activity moving forward. Darwin Barney Jersey . They say things like "stress is when you dont know what youre doing" and "I wasnt hired to motivate players, I was hired to coach motivated players." They ring as true now as they did when Mularkey heard them the first time playing tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame coach 25 years ago. http://www.officialrangersgearshop.com/ ... ds-Jersey/. TSN 1290s Jordan Cieciwa, Big Marv and Toby are here to give their predictions on who will leave with the belt and who will take some of the other key bouts on the card. Johny Hendricks vs. Jason Grilli Jersey . MORITZ, Switzerland -- Latvia won a four-man World Cup bobsled race Sunday, while the U. Ferguson Jenkins Jersey . - The Baltimore Ravens and tight end Dennis Pitta reached agreement on a five-year contract Friday. CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Canadian Eugenie Bouchard wont have to go through defending champion Serena Williams to win the Family Circle Cup. The Montreal native needed only 58 minutes to defeat dispatched qualilfier Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0 on Tuesday to advance to the third round. Number-1 seed and two-time defending champion Williams, however, was ousted from the tournament, shocked 6-4, 6-4 by Jana Cepelova of Slovakia in the second round. "Im really just dead. I need some weeks off where I dont think about tennis and kind of regroup," Williams said after the match. "Ive had a long couple of years, and Im really a little fatigued." Williams was looking for her second straight title and her third this year after winning a record seventh Sony Open last weekend. But with only 18 minutes gone in the match, she was down 0-5 on the green clay at the Family Circle Tennis Center. Williams rallied, winning four straight games surrendering only six points and it looked like Cepelovas lead would be short-lived. But the 20-year-old Cepelova came back and, holding serve in the final game, was able to win the set. Williams said later she feels emotionally and physically spent. "Definitely a little bit of both. But again, I think Jana played really well for her today," she said. "The good thing is I know I can play a lot better. So its always really positive for me." Cepelovas run out to a quick lead silenced the crowd, which was in the defending champions corner "I have 5-0 and I was a little bit nervous, but I did it," said Cepelova, ranked 78th in world. "You know, you play against No. 1 player and you never know. It was a tough situation for me, but Im really happy that I keep the set." Williams sister, Venus, also struggled on Tuesday, but edged Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-3, 0-6, 7-5. "Ive actually been pretty sick lately -- Ive been having like a bug," Venus Williams she said after the match that lasted 2 hours, 15 minutes. "You just have to play your way into the week and just continue to feel better." Venus Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion has battled injuries and Sjogrens syndrome, a fatigue-causing autoimmune disease, during the past two years. "I havent gotten rid of it.ddddddddddddI wish I could have. Unfortunately it just clings to me," Williams said. "Ive just learned to handle it mentally and also I try to do things all the time, just always going for optimal health." Williams seemed in control of the match after she won the first set, surrendering only two points in her last two service games. But the 56th-ranked Zahlavova Strycova rattled off seven straight games to shut out the 28th-ranked Williams in the second set and go up 1-0 in the third. Williams rallied for a 5-4 lead in the third set, but Zahlavova Strycova fought off four match points to tie it at 5-all. Williams then earned a break in the next game -- helped by a final point double-fault -- and held at love to win the match. Williams staved off what could have been her earliest exit at the Family Circle. Shes making her seventh appearance at the tournament she won a decade ago. Williams, who won the Dubai title this year, said she didnt get down on herself after dropping the second set. "My gosh, if you are careful and you dont play almost perfectly, every single player is so talented out here that you can drop a set or the match," Williams said. "So its stay focused, really believing in yourself and taking some chances and making your shots." Also Tuesday, No 9. seed Lucie Safarova of Czechoslovakia defeated Virginie Razzano of France 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. American Vania King beat Julia Glushko 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, and Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia defeated American wild card Shelby Rogers 7-5, 7-5. No. 13 Elena Vesnina of Russia cruised past Anna Schmiedlova of Slovakia, 6-2, 6-1, and Shuai Zhang of China outlasted Su-Wei Hsieh of Taiwan 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (0). In other matches, No. 14 seed Andrea Petkovic of Germany eliminated Lesia Tsurenko of the Ukraine, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-1, and Spains Lourdes Dominguez Lino defeated countrywoman Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3, 6-2. Peng Shuai of China defeated Caroline Garcia of France 6-2, 6-3. No. 7 seed Samantha Stosur of Australia eliminated Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan 6-3, 5-7, 6-1. Teliana Pereira of Brazil ousted eighth-seeded Sorana Cirstea of Romania 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (0). Marina Erakovic of New Zealand defeated Nadia Petrova of Russia, who received a wild card for the tournament, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. ' ' '