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VANCOUVER - Sophie Schmidt thought she was going to send the Canadian fans home happy on Tuesday night.The reigning Womens World Cup champions had other ideas.Second-half substitute Aya Sameshima scored in stoppage time after Schmidt had tied things late as Japan defeated Canada 3-2 in a wild international womens soccer friendly.I was pumped. We fought really hard to get back. I thought that we chased them, put a lot of pressure on them, said Schmidt. Things were going our way, we were pressing them. Its just an unfortunate thing that happened. I think fatigue set in ... and a simple mistake.Sameshima jumped on ill-advised backpass by Canadas Allysha Chapman that handcuffed teammate Emily Zurrer before moving in alone and beating goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe.The deflating goal came moments after Schmidt brought her team level with her second of the night.Bittersweet. Disappointed with what happened at the end there, but cant fault the performance of these Canadian women, said head coach John Herdman. Every time that we ask them to pull on the red shirt I know what were going to get. Its 100 per cent and they aim to make their country proud just through their effort to start with.Canada, which also lost 3-0 to Japan in Edmonton on Saturday, is currently ranked eighth by FIFA as it continues preparations ahead of hosting the Womens World Cup next summer.Talk about a roller-coaster, said Canadian captain Christine Sinclair. Just very proud of our team to play two very good games against one of the best teams in the world. Realistically we should have come away with a tie tonight.Herdman is trying new tactics and younger players in the buildup to the tournament, including 16-year-old Jessie Fleming in midfield and 18-year-old Kadeisha Buchanan in defence.In terms of the performance I can be proud of what theyve done, said Herdman. Eight months out from a World Cup, were going to be there fighting. You can see that. This team isnt going to be too far away with all the preparation we do.On this night, however, there were some growing pains.Yuki Ogimi, like Sameshima a sub in the second half, gave No. 3 Japan a 2-1 lead in the 76th minute after pouncing on a Buchanan error and lobbing a shot up and over a helpless Labbe to break a 1-1 tie.We walk away discouraged that we lost, said Schmidt. Its a little bit disheartening because you want to win in Canada in front of your fans, give them something to be excited about. But theres a lot of good things we walk away with.Down 1-0 in the second half, Canada tied things in the 58th minute when Schmidt rifled a shot off a corner kick that Japanese goalkeeper Miho Fukumoto completely whiffed on moments after Fleming was denied in front of goal.The effort cancelled out a stunning volley from Asana Nagasato after another corner that gave the visitors a 1-0 lead in the 33rd minute. Schmidt could only clear the ball as far as Nagasato at the edge of the penalty area, and she pounded a shot off the crossbar and in past Labbe.The game was played on the turf at B.C. Place Stadium, which will host the final of next summers Womens World Cup. Herdman made five changes from Saturdays lineup, including Labbe getting a start ahead of Erin McLeod.Japanese head coach Norio Sasaki — whose team is also the Olympic silver medallists — made nine changes to his starting 11, including all three goal scorers from Saturday.Outside of Sinclair, finding goals has been a consistent problem for Canada and a lot of early chances went begging against the Japanese. Fleming moved in on a 2-on-1 break in the seventh minute, but decided on an aerial pass that failed to connect when a better option might have been to put a shot on target.Sinclair then had an effort blocked in 16th minute and another headed chance in the 26th. Fleming tried her luck again in the 28th minute, but her shot was thwarted and Adriana Leon missed on the follow up.The first 15 minutes we should have been two up. We had two great chances, said Herdman. I thought we started the game brighter than we did the other day. We got caught in their quality in the first 10 minutes in Edmonton. That really set the tone for the game. I thought we started brightly.Leon then missed another grade-A chance from 10 yards out at the end of the half after taking a pass from Sinclair.Canada returned to B.C. Place for the first time since a 2-1 defeat to No. 2 Germany in June that saw the visitors waste a number of opportunities in a game that wasnt nearly as close as the scoreline suggested.Weve definitely progressed, said Sinclair. Were now expecting results against these teams, which is exciting.Note: Ogimi also scored for Japan in Edmonton. ... Canadian midfielder Diana Matheson, who scored the goal in Canadas 1-0 Olympic bronze-medal victory against France two years ago, suffered a knee injury Saturday and was not available for the game. ... A group of elite female players has filed a human rights complaint that FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association are discriminating against women by making them play on artificial turf at the Womens World Cup when the mens World Cup is held on natural grass. There are no Canadian players named to avoid conflicts with the CSA, which doubles as the tournaments national organizing committee. ... Attendance was 14,328.___Follow @JClipperton_CP on Twitter Adidas NMD R1 Japan Black . The Extreme Heat Policy was enacted at Melbourne Park just before 2 p.m. Thursday, suspending all matches on outer courts until the early evening and requiring the closure of the retractable roofs at Rod Laver and Hisense arenas before play could continue on the show courts. Adidas NMD R1 Cheap .4 seconds left and dribbled up court, weaving through Pitts defence. http://www.cheapnmdonline.com/ .Y. - Major League Soccer is prepared to start its season this weekend even if there isnt a labour deal with its referees and other on-field officials. Adidas NMD Pharrell Williams Human Race Yellow . Huntington doesnt want to help run the club unless Hurdle is in the dugout. The combination thats returned the franchise to respectability will remain intact for years to come. Adidas NMD Human Race China . And theyre pointing to the NHLs biggest market: Toronto. With Gretzky paid out for what is believed to be $7 to 8 million, Gretzky may be eager to get back into the NHL and TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports that the Maple Leafs are very much interested in The Great Ones services.CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Nelson Arenado found a way to help his team on the same night he lost his 28-game hitting streak. Arenados ninth-inning walk set up Justin Morneaus tying double for Colorado, but Joey Votto led off the bottom half with a game-ending homer in Cincinnatis 4-3 victory over the Rockies on Friday. Votto drove a 3-0 pitch from Boone Logan (1-1) over the wall in centre for his fifth homer. Vottos fourth career game-ending shot travelled an estimated 437 feet. Arenado went 0 for 3, ending his club-record and major league-best hitting streak. But he walked on a full-count pitch with one out in the ninth and Morneau then hit a drive into the gap in left-centre, handing Jonathan Broxton (1-0) his first blown save in six opportunities. "I didnt see many pitches to hit, and the ones I saw, I missed, but walks are a big deal to me," Arenado said. "Im not a big walker. I was just doing what I could to help the team win." Colorado manager Walt Weiss wasnt surprised at Arenados selfless approach. "He went up there with no other thought other than winning the game," Weiss said. "He was trying to get on base any way he could." Johnny Cueto had another strong outing for Cincinnati, striking out eight in eight innings of two-run ball. The right-hander allowed five hits and walked one. "Thats the first time Ive faced him," Arenado said. "Hes got a sneaky fastball, and he locates it really well. Hes one of the best pitchers Ive ever seen." Cueto has pitched eight or more innings in five consecutive starts. He has gone at least seven in each of his eight starts this season. "The guys battled really well," Weiss said. "We knew it was going to be tough to score runs on Cueto. Hes been locked in. We knew we had to scratch and claw. We had to battle every at bat and make him earn every out. They battled all the way through. Boone got into a tough count against a really good hitter." Colorados Jhoulys Chacin, making his second start of the season after missing the first month with a right shoulder strain, allowed two runs and four hits in six innings. "Jhoulys did a hell of a job," Weiss said.dddddddddddd "You could see his confidence growing every inning, especially with his fastball." Skip Schumaker hit Chacins second pitch of the game up the left-centre gap for a double. He moved to third on Brayan Penas groundout to first and scored on Brandon Phillips sacrifice fly. Todd Frazier drove Chacins first pitch of the second inning 485 feet to a party area above the centre-field batters eye. Fraziers sixth homer of the season was the sixth-longest in the 12-year history of Great American Ball Park. "The first two innings, I had trouble keeping my pitches down," Chacin said. "After the first two innings, I was trying to keep the ball down. I was using my sinker more. Thats my game -- throwing strikes and making them hit the ball into the ground." Troy Tulowitzki led off Colorados fourth with his 10th homer, a 404-foot shot on Cuetos first pitch that bounced off the roof over the Reds bullpen bench in left-centre field. The Rockies tied it in the fifth. DJ LeMahieu led off with a single, moved to second on Chacins groundout and scored on Charlie Blackmons single up the middle. Pinch-hitter Billy Hamilton greeted Logan with an opposite-field double down the right-field line in the eighth inning. Schumaker sacrificed Hamilton to third base, setting up Penas sacrifice fly. NOTES: Frazier extended his hitting streak to nine games, matching his career high. ... Weiss was pleasantly surprised that Morneau missed just one game with neck stiffness. Morneau, who has a history of neck problems, was scratched from Thursdays game at Texas, but started Friday at Cincinnati. "I didnt think it would be too long, but I thought it would be a couple of days," Weiss said. ... The Reds will most likely activate LHP Aroldis Chapman from the disabled list on Saturday, manager Bryan Price said. The team wanted to give the closer an extra day after he pitched on consecutive days for the first time on Tuesday and Wednesday to wrap up his rehab assignment. Chapman was struck in the left eye and nose by a line drive during a spring training game on March 19. ' ' '