Former Uconn goalie Labbe saves the day

Canada beats Sweden for Olympic gold

Christine Sinclair finally has her title and it was a former Uconn goaltender who helped her get it.

The 38-year-old, longtime captain of the Canadian team has more international goals than any other player, male or female. But a major tournament championship had eluded her.

Canada clinched the Olympic gold medal by winning a penalty shootout 3-2 against Sweden after a 1-1 draw in Friday’s final at the Tokyo Games.

Canadian goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe, who played at Uconn from 2005-08, stopped Jonna Andersson in the shootout to make way for Julia Grosso, a 20-year-old player for the University of Texas, who beat Sweden goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl to win it.

The Canadian players mobbed Grosso on the field, and Sinclair raised her arms in victory before leaping atop her teammates.

“I honestly cannot even believe what just happened,” said Sinclair, who has 187 career goals. “For the last 40 days, we had a goal to come in here and change the color of the medal and we landed on top of the podium. Just such an honor to be part of this group.”

Jessie Fleming made Canada’s first kick in the shootout, but Ashley Lawrence, Vanessa Gillies and Adriana Leon all failed to convert.

Kosovare Asllani hit the post with Sweden’s first kick, and Nathalie Bjorn and Olivia Schough built a 2-1 Sweden lead. Anna Anvegard’s shot was saved by Labbe and, with a chance to win the gold, Caroline Seger sent her kick over the crossbar.

Canada’s Deanne Rose made it 2-2 before Andersson’s next shot for Sweden was saved by Labbe, diving to her left.

Labbé was the Big East goalkeeper of the year as a senior. She helped the Huskies make three NCAA Tournament appearances during her time in Storrs, including the quarterfinals in 2007. She posted 22 shutouts in her career and 325 career saves, secondbest all time in program history.