Christine Sinclair of Burnaby, B.C., scored two first-half goals on Saturday as Canada posted a 3-2 win over Italy in the Peace Queen Cup, a women's soccer tournament in Seoul.
Jodi-Ann Robinson of Richmond, B.C., also had a goal for Canada, which was playing without captain Charmaine Hooper, Sharolta Nonen and Christine Latham.
Canada's Christine Sinclair, right, celebrates with teammate Rhian Wilkinson after scoring against Italy during their Peace Queen Cup preliminary match on Saturday.
(Ahn Young-joon/Associated Press)
The three players were suspended by the Canadian Soccer Association for failing to play in a pair of exhibition games against China in August.
Canada built an early lead with solid goalkeeping from Calgary's Erin McLeod and flashes of brilliance from Sinclair, but Italy closed the gap in the second half and was a constant threat.
Sinclair, who served as captain, got her first goal in the 17th minute after picking up a long cross and drilling a shot inside the left post from a tight angle.
Her second was no less skilful, as she took a pass from Martina Franko of Squamish, B.C., on the left flank and chipped the ball over Italian goalkeeper Carla Brunozzi's right leg in the 35th minute.
Valentina Boni cut the deficit in the 70th, but Canada edged further ahead when Robinson shrugged off two defenders to make it 3-1 in the 81st.
Panico kept Italy close by scoring in the 88th minute.
In Saturday's other game, Angelica Ferreira scored a late winner for Brazil in its 1-0 victory over host South Korea.
The invitational tournament divides eight teams into two groups, with games spread across five South Korean cities.
Canada is in Group A and will play South Korea on Monday and Brazil on Wednesday. The championship match between the top teams in Group A and Group B will be played Nov. 4 in Seoul.
Vying for direct berth
The tournament is Canada's last before it enters the CONCACAF 2006 Women's Gold Cup, where it will attempt to earn one of the region's direct berths to the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup.
Brazil, the world No. 4, dominated possession over an ultra-defensive South Korea, which finally conceded a goal by allowing the visitors plenty of space.
Coach Jose Teixeira said the team was rusty after being out of action since the Olympics.
"We were expecting it would be a very tough match," he said. "There were some mistakes. We missed some good opportunities, but I'm sure that for the upcoming matches the team will improve a lot."
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