Canadian womens soccer team veteran Melanie Booth announced her retirement Wednesday, ending a career highlighted by a gold-meda

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Canadian womens soccer team veteran Melanie Booth announced her retirement Wednesday, ending a career highlighted by a gold-medal win at the 2011 Pan Am Games and Olympic bronze the following year in London. Swell Cyber Monday Sale . Booth picked up 65 caps after making her national team debut in 2002 at the age of 17. She most recently played for Sky Blue FC of the National Womens Soccer League. "It just felt like it was my time to move on," she said in a phone interview from her hometown of Burlington, Ont. "I had been preparing myself for this and it seemed like it was the right time for me." Booth had one of the shootout goals in Canadas victory over Brazil at the 2011 Pan Am Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. Canada tied the game late in the second half and won 4-3 on penalty kicks. The veteran defender was initially listed as an alternate on the 2012 Olympic side but was later added to the team when injuries forced roster changes. "The hardest part (about retiring) is leaving the people that Ive been around for so long," she said. "Theyre like a second family to me." Although she never featured in London, Booth proudly stood on the podium with her teammates to receive their bronze medals after a 1-0 win over France at Wembley Stadium. "Just the group that I was with, I was just so thankful to be around them and to be a part of that team," she said. "Just throughout my whole career thats what I strived to do -- just to look for the positive in everything and use that as motivation and try to better the people around me." Of her 65 caps, 37 came as a starter. Her lone goal for Canada came in a 4-0 win over Jamaica at the 2006 CONCACAF Womens Gold Cup. Canada won silver at that tournament. Booth also helped Canada win silver at the FIFA U20 Womens World Cup in 2002 and the Womens Gold Cup that same year. The 29-year-old played college soccer at the University of Florida. She started her club career with the Toronto Lady Lynx and also played for the Vancouver Whitecaps. Booth joined Sky Blue FC as part of the NWSLs original national team player allocation process. "We all want to thank Mel for her contributions to Sky Blues inaugural NWSL season," Sky Blue FC coach Jim Gabarra said in a release. "Congratulations to Mel on a successful career and good luck in the next phase of life." Booth has yet to finalize her future plans but intends to remain involved in the sport in some capacity. Swell Black Friday Sale . Rinehart joins safety Darrell Stuckey and linebacker Donald Butler as potential unrestricted free agents who are remaining with the team. Swell Black Friday . -- Hee Young Park topped the leaderboard at 8 under Friday in the suspended second round of the Kingsmill Championship. http://www.waterbottleblackfriday.com/ .Heres Ralph the Dog with the crew here at TSN jumping into the James Duthie TradeCentre selfie: Happy to drop by! RT @TSN_Sports: @tsnjamesduthie: Take this Ellen.BARCELONA, Spain - Tito Vilanova, the coach who succeeded Pep Guardiola at Barcelona and won the Spanish league title in his only season in charge, died Friday following a long battle with throat cancer. He was 45. Vilanova, who has battled a recurring tumour in a saliva gland, was admitted to a local hospital in Barcelona last week. He reportedly had emergency surgery on Thursday. "It is with sadness that Barcelona must announce that Francesc Tito Vilanova has died today at the age of 45," Barcelona said in a statement on its website. "The death of our former coach occurred this afternoon when he could not overcome this disease which he had battled since 2011." Vilanovas death prompted an outpouring of condolences from players and coaches across Europe. Barcelona star Lionel Messi posted a photograph of himself with Vilanova on his Facebook page with the message: "We will always remember you. All my sympathy goes to Titos family." Former Barcelona defender Eric Abidal, who recovered from liver cancer and a liver transplant to help hoist the 2012-13 league trophy with Vilanova, wrote on Twitter: "For everything we went through together, I will always remember you, my friend. Thanks for fighting." Spains royal family and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy also sent telegrams to Vilanovas family and Barcelona, according to the Europa Press news agency. Vilanova first became ill in November 2011, while still an assistant to Guardiola, and took a leave of absence after undergoing surgery. The soft-spoken Vilanova returned and took over from Guardiola the next season, when he led Barcelona to the Spanish league title with a record-tying 100 points. Vilanova had a second tumour removed in December 2012 and travelled to New York several times during the season to receive further treatment before returning to the sidelines. In April 2013, Vilanova said he felt fine and "had never thought about quitting." He finished the season before suddenly being forced to resign following a relapse in July. As an assistant, Vilanova hellped Guardiola propel Barcelona into its most successful period and transform a team led by Messi into the worlds best. Cheap Hydro Flask. . With a team that also included several of the players that led Spain to the World Cup title in 2010, Barcelona won 14 of a possible 19 major trophies from 2008-12 under Guardiola before adding the league title with Vilanova in 2013. Despite the impressive league display, Vilanova was unable to win another Champions League title last season. Barcelona lost to eventual champion Bayern Munich 7-0 on aggregate in the semifinals, one of its most humbling results of the last decade. As Guardiolas assistant, Vilanova provided the tactical know-how that helped the coach build one of the best teams in the history of the sport — winning two Champions League titles in its impressive haul. Vilanova will also be remembered for his role in a brawl in the 2010 Spanish Super Cup won by Barcelona, when Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho poked him in the eye. Mourinho, who is now at Chelsea, also sent his condolences "at this most difficult time." "Tito Vilanovas passing is a sad day for football, for Barcelona and most importantly for his family and friends," Mourinho said. Born in the Catalan village of Bellcaire dEmporda, Vilanova began his career as a player at Barcelonas training academy from 1984-89 but never made it to the first team. Instead, he went on to play for clubs such as Celta Vigo and Mallorca before his career was cut short by a serious knee injury. Vilanova then went into coaching and got a job in Barcelonas youth system, tutoring current players Gerard Pique, Cesc Fabregas and Messi. Vilanova left to work as sport director at third-division club Terrassa before returning to Barcelona to take over the clubs "Barca B" feeder team. His funeral will be on Monday at Barcelonas cathedral. Vilanova is survived by his wife, Montse Chaure, and two children. His son Adrian is currently in Barcelonas youth academy. AP Sports Writer Paul Logothetis contributed to this report from Madrid. Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Cheap NBA Jerseys Wholesale NHL Jerseys Wholesale MLB Jerseys Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Wholesale NCAA Jerseys Wholesale Football Jerseys Wholesale Basketball Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys ' ' '