A collective gasp filled the stands at B.C. Place Monday night and was no doubt shared by TV viewers around the world.
It was late into the second half of Canada versus Costa Rica in Olympic qualifying soccer action when the Costa Rican netminder didn't mind her net so well.
With her eyes focused far down the field, she took a pass from her defender and with her boot poised too high, let the ball roll into her own net.
It's not the kind of error expected at senior international level of play, but as at least one North Shore soccer player agrees, even world class athletes makes mistakes.
"It happens to the best of us. You've got to brush it off and move forward," says Liz Palmer, who plays for the Wickham Rebels, a North Vancouver team for women over 30.
She has been watching the games on TV with her three sons, whom she also coaches, and says it's great that the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament is in town.
"It's just fantastic. It's so great to watch," she says. "It's awesome, especially for women's soccer."
Despite Palmer's kind take on Monday's error, the Costa Rican goalie's flub Monday night did contribute to a 51 loss that knocked the team out of Olympic contention.
Monday night's game was important for Canada's national women's team. Their win means they won't have to face the Americans in semi-final action. And so far, the U.S. women's team has been unstoppable.
A crowd of more than 6,000 watched the U.S. women's team roll over Guatemala 13-0 at B.C. Place Sunday night.
You know it's not a great game when the person sitting next to you repeatedly asks if one team has too many players on the field.
For the record, at no time were there too many U.S. players on the pitch Sunday evening against Guatemala. It just looked that way.
Unfortunately, for most of the match, the U.S. players proved too fast for their Guatemalan counterparts. In the time it took the Guatemalan players to make a decision about anything, the Americans were on them in force so that it often looked like the American players outnumbered the Guatemalans.
Forward Abby Wambach was the first to score, and she did it early in the game, soon followed by another. Her two goals in the first half pushed her career total past Germany's Birgit Printz to stand at 129, just one point behind Kristine Lilly and not far from Mia Hamm's 158, which makes her third in the world's all-time scoring list.
With the Americans leading 6-0 at halftime, it was not surprising that Wambach was pulled after the first half. Six other players contributed to the U.S. tally, but it was 21-year-old Sydney Leroux who proved the most dangerous.
Coming on for the second half, Leroux, a Vancouver native, scored just minutes after her arrival. She went on to rack up four more goals, her first at the senior national team level (she previously played under-20).
Although the majority of fans were there to watch the Americans, a hearty Guatemalan cheering section was also on hand. Tickets were cheap, just $10 or $15 depending on the location, so it's not a surprise that many families with young children were in attendance.
Sunday's win secured a semi-final berth for the Americans, and likely a spot in the final game.
Like many soccer fans here on the North Shore, Palmer is hoping to see the Americans face the Canadians in the final.
"The Canadians can pull if off," says Palmer of the team's chances of beating the U.S. team. "I think they've got the potential to do it. They've got a great new coach, and they're just a really positive team."
Some media reports have suggested the Canadian team is only as good as its star player Christine Sinclair. Palmer disagrees.
"It takes a team to make a team, not an individual. I think she's got a great support system and that's why she's in the spot she's in," she says of Sinclair.
Palmer is a fan of Sinclair's, but as a midfielder on her own team, she is also a fan of Canadian midfielder Brittany Timko.
Palmer notes that the Canadian team has been playing a very cautious game so far.
"They're being very cautious. They're simple as well, they're not racking up the scores," she says. "They're working together and making sure everyone is touching the ball, moving the ball up together, not as individuals. It's really impressive to see."
Palmer has tickets to attend the U.S. versus Mexico match Tuesday night, and is excited to take her kids. She encourages everyone to go watch a game at B.C. Place.
"It's amazing soccer, it's great soccer. It's impressive and it's great to cheer on your country," she says. "Seeing the skill and the motivation and the drive. It's just fantastic to see. It really is. Soccer's come a long way."
She also encourages women to get out and play the sport.
"There's so many opportunities now, especially in North Vancouver," she says.
The North Shore Thirty Something Women's Soccer League is just one example of soccer opportunities for women who never got a chance to play and want to learn, or who played as a kid, or who just want to have fun.
The CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying tournament to determine which two teams will represent North and South America at the Olympics continues all this week at B.C. Place, with the final game set for January 29. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.
