Newly appointed captain Christine Sinclair scored all three goals Monday as Canada defeated South Korea 3-1 for its second win in as many games at the inaugural Peace Queen Cup.
The hat trick raised Sinclair's total to five goals in two games.
Just 23, Sinclair has scored 63 times for Canada in 84 appearances. The forward from Burnaby, B.C., made her debut for the senior side in 2000.
``Since she started residency camp on Sept. 11, I think she has been an absolutely outstanding leader for us,'' head coach Even Pellerud said from the team hotel.
Canada is missing three experienced players at the tournament. Longtime captain Charmaine Hooper, Sharolta Nonen and Christine Latham have been suspended over a dispute with the association to do with the team's residency camps in Vancouver.
Pellerud refused to discuss the three missing players Monday.
Canada, ranked 10th in the world, leads Group A with six points after opening with a 3-2 win over Italy and needs only a draw against No. 4 Brazil in its last group match Wednesday to qualify for the final.
``We need a draw and based on what I have seen, that is realistic,'' Pellerud said.
The Italians held Brazil 1-1 on Monday, leaving the Brazilians in second place with four points.
Australia leads Group B with three points after its opening win over Netherlands, followed by the United States and Denmark.
The invitational tournament, formerly a club-level event for men, features eight teams in two groups. The group leaders will meet in Saturday's final in Seoul for a US$200,000 prize.
Sinclair beat South Korean goalkeeper Kim Jung-mi with a powerful strike in the 22nd minute Monday before the hosts equalized on Hong Kyung-suk's well-taken free kick.
Sinclair took control after halftime, racing into the penalty area in the 49th and driving a shot inside the far post. She gave the Canadians a two-goal margin in the 68th minute with a one-touch volley that went over Kim.
``Overall a strong performance,'' Pellerud said. ``I always tend to look at goal-scoring chances and we had maybe nine or 10 and they had maybe two or three. So it was a quite dominant performance but they were good enough to challenge us.''
Sinclair, who led the world under-19 championships in scoring four years ago in Edmonton, also scored two of Canada's three goals in a win over Italy on Saturday.
Brazil followed up on its narrow win over South Korea by scraping a tie against Italy.
Italy captain Patrizia Panico headed Tatiana Zorri's free kick across the goalmouth for defender Giulia Perelli to score in the 21st minute. Suzana saved the day for the Brazilians with a powerful left foot shot in the 54th minute.
The tournament features five of top 10 teams in the world, including No. 10 Canada.
Canada is using it as a warmup ahead of next month's World Cup qualifying event in California.
North Korea, ranked No. 7 and winner of this year's world under-20 championship in Russia, pulled out following the regime's Oct. 9 nuclear test.
Tuesday's Group B matches feature the United States against Australia and Denmark against Netherlands.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
