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 Lauren Sesselmann (Green Bay Notre Dame) is headed to the Olympics this summer.
Sesselmann returned from a knee injury to start and played 63 minutes at left back as Canada beat Mexico 3-1 in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament on Friday night in Vancouver to earn a berth in the London Games.
The two finalists in the eight-team tournament were awarded spots in the 12-team Olympic tournament – the U.S. beat Costa Rica 3-0 in the other semifinal and will face Canada in the tournament final at 7 p.m. Sunday. The match will be televised by NBC Sports Network.
Sesselmann hadn't played since coming off at halftime of Canada's opening game of the tournament a week earlier against Haiti, missing the host team's final two matches of group play.
Playing with a brace on her left knee, the 28-year-old Sesselmann earned her 10th cap and helped set up Canada's first goal in the 15th minute. The Atlanta Beat defender played a ball into the box from the left side that Melissa Tancredi touched back for Christine Sinclair, who finished for the first of her two goals on the night.
The women's soccer tournament at the London Olympics kicks off July 25, with the draw set for April 24 There will be three four-team groups, with the group winners and runners-up and the top two third-place teams advancing to the quarterfinals. The gold medal match is Aug. 9 at Wembley Stadium in London.
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