2008, 2012 & 2016 Olympian - Canada / Pro Women's Soccer: Orebro FC Sweden
2007, 2011 & 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Participant - Canada
OLYMPIC MEDALIST. PAN AM GAMES CHAMPION. WORLD CUP PARTICIPANT. COLLEGE GRADUATE. MEDICAL SCHOOL GRADUATE.
Melissa, a graduate of Notre Dame University in South Bend, IN, received her medical degree from Logan College of Chiropractic in St Louis, MO.
From Ancaster, ON, Melissa has been a forward on the Canadian Women’s Soccer Team for 9 years. Melissa has appeared in 124 Senior International Caps and has tallied 27 goals since making her national team debut in 2004. Her 100th cap was in her home region of Hamilton, ON in the final friendly ahead of the 2015 Women's World Cup which is where it all began for her as a kid in Ancaster.
She has represented Canada at 3 FIFA Women’s World Cups (2007, 2011 and 2015) and 2 Olympic Games, Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016. Melissa received her undergrad degree from Notre Dame University (Anthropology and Pre-Medicine Studies) where she played college soccer until 2004. While at Notre Dame, she earned First & Second Team All American 2003 & 2004 / Big East Player of the Year 2003 & 2004 playing for the Fighting Irish.
On August 9, 2012 Melissa and her teammates defeated France 1-0 to win Olympic Bronze, becoming the first team since 1936 to win an Olympic medal for Canada at a Summer Games, Melissa scored Canada’s first goal in London 2012 and was one of Canada’s top offensive threats throughout the tournament scoring a total of 4 goals and 2 assists, making her the tournaments third leading scorer behind only the greats of our sport including my teammate Christine Sinclair and Abby Wambach of the United States.
The semi-final game in London 2012 in which Canada faced the USA was a historic match as 10.7 million Canadian’s (nearly 1/3 of the Canadian population) watched part of the game. An average audience of 2.4 million viewers were tuned in on TSN making it the second most-watched Olympic Games event ever on the network, behind only the 2010 men’s gold medal hockey game in Vancouver; Melissa and her teammates captured the hearts of Canadians from coast to coast by winning bronze in London and are now preparing for the podium in 2015 when Canada hosts the FIFA Women’s World Cup and to improve upon their results for Rio 2016.
After the Olympics, Melissa took time off from the Women's National program to earn her graduate medical degree from Logan College of Chiropractic in St Louis, MO. Melissa graduated in the Summer of 2014. After graduation she was fully reinstated by Canada Soccer as a carded player and has played for the Chicago Red Stars post-graduation since then. The Red Stars are a member of the professional women's soccer league owned in the United States by U.S. Soccer and has involvement from Canada Soccer and the Mexican Women's National Soccer Program (National Women's Soccer League).
Melissa was named to her 3rd FIFA World Cup in April 2015. The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup squad would have the 1st opportunity to defend home soil and host the event in Canada. Her goals of doing this was cut short in the Quarter-Finals with a loss to England. What the Women's World Cup did bring to Canada was the largest crowds to see soccer played in the country, record-breaking audiences to CTV and TSN and that while this was not their time, that the country was excited and the experience would touch a new generation that soccer could be the nation's national passion.
Peter, Melissa and Anne-Marie Tancredi in Sao Paulo, Brazil - August 2016
At the 2016 Summer Games, Canada finished the round robin with a 3-0 record with victories over Australia, Germany and Zimbabwe, leading a group for the first time. Their victory over Germany in which Melissa had both goals in a 2-1 victory, was the first ever win over Deutschland in the history of the Canadian women's soccer program. Canada played France in the quarterfinal and earned a 1-0 victory to setup a rematch vs Germany with the winner moving on to the Gold medal match. Ultimately, Germany defeated the Canadians 2-0 and for the second Olympics in a row, Canada would have the opportunity to capture the Bronze.
In the other bracket, Canada's opponent was to be host country Brazil who had lost to Sweden in their semi-final match. For Brazil, this was their home Olympics to try and capture the Gold and a loss vaulted them into a game that they had not expected to play. Canada was able to lead 1-0 at the half and midway through the 2nd added a second goal. Brazil with a home crowd of over 40,000 spectators got a late goal and gave the Canadians a scare but once again Canada won the Bronze medal with a 2-1 win in Sao Paulo.
At the Rio 2016 Summer Games, Sao Paulo was a magical place for the squad who had a 4-0 record in Corintheans Arena.
Post game at Rio 2016 with Anne-Marie Tancredi, Melissa and Peter
After the Olympics, Melissa played the remainder of the 2016 season in the Swedish elite league for Orebro FC and in January of 2017 announced her retirement from Canada Soccer after their team's friendly against Mexico at BC Place in Vancouver, February 4, 2017.
Dr. Melissa Tancredi has begun her chiropractic business in the greater Vancouver area and more information on location & hours can be found on her website www.MelissaTancredi14.com
In Melissa's career, including the last game of her career she will have played 125 games for Canada Soccer and to date has 27 goals, 22 assists and 90 starts.