Canadian women's goalkeeper Stephanie Labbé to retire from soccer after 20 seasons
CBC
With her signature neon-pink headband and a confident smile on her face, soccer goalkeeper Stephanie Labbé helped deliver one of the most significant moments in the history of Canadian sports.
Now, after 20 seasons of national team duty and over a dozen years as a professional footballer, the Olympic champion announced Wednesday she will retire from the national team in April.
"In recent months, I have felt both the weight and the lightness of what soccer has given me, and what I have given back. I poured my heart and soul into this sport," she wrote in a retirement letter on CBCSports.ca.
"I picked up my life and moved around with soccer for years. I have made hard decisions, and left family and friends behind, in search of being my best. I have pushed my physical and mental self to places I didn't know were possible. I mastered the ability to be completely present and joyful in the highest-pressure situations.
Affectionately nicknamed "Canada's national minister of defence," Labbé was at her career best at the Tokyo Olympics last summer.
The 35-year-old Edmonton native stopped two penalties in the gold-medal penalty shootout against Sweden to propel Canada to its first-ever Olympic gold. Not only that, she also blanked the powerful United States in the semifinal and made two penalty saves during Canada's penalty-kick victory over Brazil in the quarter-finals.
WATCH | Labbé, Sinclair join The National to discuss Olympic title:
Her performance was all the more remarkable as she was nursing a rib injury from the opening match against Japan, of which she was in and out of hospital due to blood and fluids in her chest.
Canadians may recall Labbé was grinning with confidence during the most intense moments of those penalty kicks. Asked about her signature shootout smile in a recent episode of POV Podcast with CBC Sports host Anastasia Bucsis, Labbé said she felt "just pure joy and happiness."
Not that there wasn't a teeny bit of mental games happening, too.
"I wanted to show, maybe accentuate, how much fun I was having and how confident and prepared I felt, hoping it would make the opposition second guess their shot just that little bit."
WATCH | Labbé celebrates Olympic gold with fans in Spruce Grove, Alberta:
Labbé earned 85 caps in her international career, recording 43 clean sheets along the way. She's been to three FIFA Women's World Cups and also won Olympic bronze at Rio 2016. This week, she finished second in voting for FIFA's Best goalkeeper award behind Christiane Endler.
Through six games for PSG — three Division 1 Feminine and three Champions League matches — Labbé has six clean sheets.
