cadians knew they were in tough against an American t

Steph Catley is well aware Melbourne City have targets on their backs this W-League season.The club captain just hopes the spike in pressure will drive her new-look team to back-to-back titles.Cashed-up City encounter a vastly different challenge in their second season, starting at the weekend.This time last year the clubs star-studded inaugural squad were standout contenders, however that also came with questions about how such a stacked side would gel on the field.Now, having set the bar absurdly high, the defending champions face a formidable task to replicate a campaign in which they scored 38 regular-season goals, conceded just four and finished 10 points ahead of nearest rival Canberra United.Catley admitted there was a strong sense other clubs were fixated on knocking them off their perch.Theres definitely pressure, Catley said.People have mentioned were the hunted.Going into last year there wasnt much because no one knew what to expect.Other teams have really amped it up and theyve got some incredible internationals in.Were very lucky that while weve had some great players go out, weve also had some great players come in.The loss of mercurial Matildas co-captain Lisa De Vanna and Scottish gun Kim Little leaves a hole in Citys front third.But Welsh midfielder Jess Fishlocks retention is a coup, as is snaring Erika Tymrak on loan from Kansas City and poaching Matildas goalkeeper Lydia Williams from Canberra United.Catley had her eye on all teams but named last seasons grand final victim Sydney FC as the biggest threat due to their balance and stability.Their base of Australian players is so strong, she said.Theyve been together for so long and know each other back to front.Playing against them is always difficult no matter what, and if you add internationals on top of that theyll definitely be a team to beat.The start of the domestic league caps a testing few months for Catley.The 22-year-old Matildas defender spent the entire Rio Olympics battling a stress fracture in her foot, only to succumb to a hamstring tear early in Australias quarter-final loss to Brazil.The issues forced her to cut short her season with US National Womens Soccer League side Orlando Pride to focus on recovery.She finally played her first minutes last weekend.I had to rehab both those things at the same time which was quite difficult, Catley said.Its been a long process, but Im almost there.The body is feeling quite good and its timed nicely in that Ill hopefully be able to get back into W-League quite quickly.Brisbane Roar kick off the W-League season against long-time rivals Sydney at Spencer Park on Saturday before City open their campaign against Newcastle on Sunday. 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Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. Lou Williams scored 25 points and the Hawks continued their offensive upswing as they rolled to an easy 118-85 victory over the Jazz on Friday night, winning their third straight and for the fourth time in five games.TORONTO -- Its been 10 months since the United States womens soccer team delivered a dagger into the hearts of Canadians at the London Olympics. It was clear Sunday that the wound is still fresh. The cheeky BMO Field fans loudly counted off every American goal kick. They booed when Canadian-born striker Sydney Leroux scored and then popped her American jersey at them. Alex Morgan scored twice and Leroux notched the third as the world No. 1-ranked United States defeated Canada 3-0 in a friendly that was anything but. And Canadas captain Christine Sinclair was less than impressed after the match. "Maybe not the classiest of moves," Sinclair said of Lerouxs gesture. "She scored on us, and an individual can do what they like. I probably wouldnt have done the same, but we move on." The game -- billed as "The Rematch" -- marked both the first meeting between the North American rivals since Canadas heartbreaking 4-3 loss to the U.S. in the Olympic semifinals, and the Canadians first game back home since they won bronze in London. The Olympic semifinal -- which will go down as one of the most memorable in Canadian soccer history -- turned on a controversial free kick, awarded when Norwegian referee Christina Pedersen determined Canadas keeper Erin McLeod took longer than the allowable six seconds to put the ball back into play. Sunday, 22,453 red and white-clad fans -- a record for a soccer game at BMO Field -- loudly counted off the seconds, sometimes to as high as 10, each time American keeper Nicole Barnhart took a goal kick. "It was unbelievable, eh?" Canadian coach John Herdman said, laughing. "There should have been about 20 free kicks, shouldnt there? Bring back the Norwegian referee, we would have been in heaven today." Morgan scored her first in the 70th minute when she cut inside defender Emily Zurrer, firing from the top left corner of the 18-yard box and slotting it past McLeod into the bottom right corner of the net. Morgans second goal came two minutes later from the identical spot. Leroux scored seconds before the final whistle when she ran in on a breakaway, placing the ball past McLeod. Leroux, who was born in Surrey, B.C., and once dated Toronto Blue Jays star Brett Lawrie, was booed throughout the game but never more so than after her goal. She put one finger to her lips to silence the fans. It didnt work. The 23-year-old bristled when asked about the hostile reception. "Come on ... how many American-born players do you have on Canada?" Leroux said (Canadian defender Lauren Sesselman was born in the U.S.). "I thought I dealt with it well." American veteran Abby Wambach defended her teammate. "If you knew some of things that Canadian folks tweet at her, that for her was a special moment, and that for her was saying, Hey look, Im here, Im on the U.S. team," Wambach said. "So for her, Im proud of her to come on in the time that she had." The crowd was arguably one of the most entertaining parts of the match in a sloppy affair that saw the Canadians sag after the first 70 minutes. "I was honestly dying laughing the entire time," McLeod said of the goal-kick count. "The crowd was awesome. I know Canadian fans sometimes are too friendly, but I dont think they were too friendly today." Addedd Sinclair: "We had heard they were going to do that, it was kind of funny.dddddddddddd The atmosphere is insane to play in front of. It was really neat, that part. "They cheered us on right to the end, right to when we got off the field, and as a team, were proud of our performance but disappointed for our fans that came out. Its tough to swallow a 3-0 defeat, even though it didnt feel like that." The Americans did a decent job of keeping Sinclair under wraps. The Canadian star finally got free for a decent shot on net in the 48th minute, but fired it over the net. Canadas best scoring chance came in the 90th minute when national team newcomer Tiffany Cameron had an open shot from just outside the six-yard box that she fired wide right of the net. At the other end of the field, 17-year-old rookie defender Kadeisha Buchanan -- the only starter who wasnt on last summers Olympic team -- showed why Herdman is such a big fan. "Shes unbelievable, Herdman said. "She owned Abby Wambach today. Sorry Abby. "Im proud of her, she shined a light today for any kid in this country to say, look, no matter what background you come from, you can play in front of 23,000, and play like that -- wow." Buchanan got in the way of what looked like a clean breakaway for Morgan in the first half. She cleared a ball off the goal-line a minute later. Sundays grudge match, the Canadian players had been saying all week, was as much about thanking their fans for the outpouring of support as it was about getting a result against their southern foe. BMO Field was a sea of red and white for the game that sold out in less than two hours. Young girls dressed in soccer jerseys, tiny Canadian flags tucked into their hairbands, filled the stands. It appeared there wasnt a person in the south grandstand that wasnt waving a Canadian flag. "Im proud that this is a rivalry, not too long ago it wasnt," Wambach said. "Not too long ago these games werent games we looked forward to, and now they are. Now theyre getting sold-out crowds, and I think that does nothing but push the womens game forward." Despite last summers result, the Canadians knew they were in tough against an American team whose victory Sunday stretched their winning streak to 36 games. The result was a reminder, Herdman said, of how far the team has to go before Canada hosts the 2015 FIFA womens World Cup. "I think what its done is lessened the expectations a bit. Lets just get some reality here, winning the World Cup in Canada is going to be one hell of a job," Herdman said. "Getting that bronze medal was like catching lightning in a bottle, but we did. And we can do it again." The Canadian women have an all-time record of three wins, five draws and now 45 losses in 53 international matches against the mighty Americans, and have never won at home, tying them once and losing six times in seven home matches dating back to 1990. Canada last beat the U.S. at the 2001 Algarve Cup, a 3-0 victory. NOTES: The Canadian womens next home game is Oct. 30 versus South Korea in Edmonton. The Canadians have three wins and a loss against South Korea dating back to 2000. . . Prior to kickoff, Toronto, Moncton, Edmonton and Montreal were announced as the four host cities for the 2014 FIFA U-20 womens World Cup. ' ' '