When Christine Sinclair was asked in December about which players she thought had benefited the most from the possession-and-passing style of Canadian national women’s team coach Carolina Morace, she didn’t have to think long about the answer.Midfielder Diana Matheson. While Sinclair is no doubt the face of Canadian women’s soccer, Matheson has flourished as the distributor under Morace. She displayed her worth Wednesday in Canada’s 1-0 win over Scotland in the opener of the Cyprus Cup.

On a brisk but tolerable night at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, Real Salt Lake was able to show what many had expected out of it coming into this CONCACAF Champions League Quarter-final matchup against the Columbus Crew. Its 4-1 victory showed the dominance over their opponent that many had expected given the relative stability of the two lineups.

Canada’s U-23 team scored twice in the second half as it downed MLS side Chivas USA 2-0 in Carson, Calif. Tuesday.The game was the first of two the Canadian youngsters will play against Los Angeles-based MLS opposition this week. The Canadians will face the Los Angeles Galaxy on March 4.

Adrian Cann can’t go on.Toronto FC’s reigning team MVP has walked away from the club, beginning a holdout as he continues to look for an improved contract from the club.Cann did not travel with the team to Charleston, S.C. where the Reds will participate in the Carolina Challenge Cup. Cann signed a four-year deal to come to Toronto FC last season, but he made a huge impression as the safety-first centre back, providing some stability in the club’s fragile back line. Both Cann and Toronto FC were working on a new deal, but Cann rejected the club’s latest offer before packing his bags.