The Canadian women’s soccer team defeated France 1-0 in the bronze-medal match, earning Canada’s 15th medal of the 2012 Games and its first Olympic summer team sport medal since 1936.

“Hey Canada, we are coming home with a bronze for ya!” tweeted Maple Ridge’s Karina LeBlanc after the win this morning.

“So proud to be part of this amazing team, current and past players! This is for everyone that dreamed big,” she added.

Diana Matheson scored the game’s only goal in overtime to stun the French squad and put Canada on the Olympic soccer podium for the first time since the men’s team won gold in 1904.

“You can’t be great unless you achieve great things and that medal is a great thing,” said team coach John Herdman. “We know that we’ve inspired some youngsters and we hope that a whole stream of talented players.”

“There’s been a group of us who have been on this team for a while, going through the highs and lows of international soccer and nothing compares to this,” said team captain Christine Sinclair. “This was our goal at the start of this. We all had the childhood dream of being Olympic medalists.”

“What an incredible achievement,” said past gold medalist for swimming Mark Tewksbury.

“Facing the best teams in the world, this fierce and determined team showed that Canadian athletes are good enough to be counted among the very best. We are so proud of them and excited to celebrate this incredible bronze medal.”

“The women’s soccer team is a perfect example of what makes our athletes great,” said Team Canada spokesperson Sylvie Bernier.

“They are determined, focused, hard-working. This team deserves their medal and they went out and won it, keeping us on the edge of our seats for the entire game!”

“They have proven over the course of this tournament that they belong with the best teams in the world. The bronze medals that will hang around their necks will forever be a symbol of their exceptional talent and fierce competitive spirit,” said Marcel Aubut, president of the Canadian Olympic Team.