Then-junior forward Nichelle Prince (7) celebrates with teammates after a goal during a game against Minnesota on Sept. 17. Credit: Sam Harris | For The Lantern
Former Ohio State women’s soccer forward Nichelle Prince earned her first-career gold medal Friday as a member of Team Canada.
Prince helped Canada during its gold-medal run which concluded with a nail biting, shootout win over Sweden Friday.
Ending regulation all knotted up at one, Team Canada kicked a successful shootout score in the first round, but Sweden stormed ahead 2-1 in the third. With their backs against the wall, Team Canada saw a match-tying score from Deanne Rose in the fifth round and a critical save from goalkeeper Stephanie Labbé in the sixth.
20-year-old Julia Grosso then scored the medal-sealing goal with a kick into the left side of the net during the sixth round to win the shootout 3-2 for Team Canada.
Prince started each Olympic contest for Team Canada, including the 1-0 victory over No. 1 United States team Monday. Interestingly, the gold medal match was rescheduled 10 hours from its original start time due to heat in Tokyo.
The medal represents the second of Prince’s career, as she received bronze with Team Canada during the Rio games in 2016. She joins sophomore swimmer Hunter Armstrong as the second Buckeye to earn a gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics.
