Joy of playing soccer returns for Canada's Jordyn Huitema after harrowing U.S. home invasion
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The smile was wiped from Jordyn Huitema's face as quick as the forward's stride on a soccer pitch.
She was discussing her and the Canadian national women's team's long-standing rivalry with the United States when a Toronto reporter asked Huitema about being victim to a home invasion last month.
With a night off on May 1, the fourth-year member of the National Women's Soccer League's Seattle Reign FC locked all doors of her home in Mercer Island, Wash., at 8:30 p.m. PT and went to bed.
Soon, Huitema heard noises downstairs but the home alarm didn't sound. She quickly entered survival mode, grabbing clothes, her phone and barricading herself in the bathroom by hiding in a locked water closet.
WATCH | Huitema returning to normalcy after traumatic home invasion scare:
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"I was sitting on the floor with my back against the door and my feet on the toilet, pushing against the door," Huitema, from Chilliwack, B.C., later told the Seattle Times. "But then … there was one person that came into the bathroom with me, and his flashlight was shining, and I could see it going under the door. I knew he was right beside me, and I was just hoping that he didn't touch the door.
"That's when I put my hand over my mouth and nose and was just trying to hold in all the tears, trying to hold in all the sounds, just trying to be as quiet as possible."
Huitema called 911 and eventually reached a dispatcher, whispering details in a bid to stay hidden. She doesn't know whether the robbers realized she was home but was never spotted. They intruders stole nearly $200,000 US worth of belongings, according to court documents.
Weeks later, Huitema and her Canadian teammates are preparing for Friday's Pride Celebration friendly against Costa Rica, a 7:30 p.m. ET start at BMO Field in Toronto.
'It's a journey'
Huitema now has more jump in her step. She's having fun hanging out with her teammates on the national squad. And she's excited to play before a home crowd.
"A work in progress," is how the 24-year-old Huitema described her return to soccer in a Zoom call this week with Signa Butler of CBC Sports. "It's a journey. I've got my routine back of sleeping and eating; the basics to be a professional [athlete].
"The joy being on the field brings me is something you don't feel anywhere else. I feel like a different person than where I was at [a few weeks ago]."
Following the home invasion, Reign head coach Laura Harvey gave Huitema the option to sit out, but she chose to play.
"I tried to give everything," the player said, "and that wore me down more without realizing I was slipping away from myself. I was exhausted.
"I was struggling so much that when it was time to step on the field my head was in a different world.
"I'm very bad at choosing myself in situations where I should," continued Huitema, "but I'm learning."
After an "amazing" conversation with Casey Stoney, first-year head coach of Canada's national women's team, Huitema returned to Chilliwack and spent about a week with her parents and siblings.
"She agreed I should step away," Huitema said of Stoney, the 42-year-old former England captain hired by Canada Soccer in January. "I never like to wave the white flag and say that I'm down.
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Made senior national team debut at 15
"[But] it was a good reset. Had I let [the situation] spiral, it could have turned into something where it needed to be a longer-termed [absence] but all I needed in that moment was a week."
These days, Huitema is excited about the number of fresh faces with the national team. In March 2017, she made her debut with the senior club as a 15-year-old in Canada's 1-0 Algarve Cup final loss to Spain in Portugal. She was the third-youngest woman to play for Canada behind only record-holder Kara Lang and Jessie Fleming, who were also 15.
"We need to start developing the future of Canada soccer," said the five-foot-10 Huitema, who won 2021 Olympic gold in Tokyo and was a member of last year's team in Paris. "You see yourself in [the younger players]. You can relate to them, so you try to give a helping hand or be supportive to make them feel comfortable."
After Friday's friendly, the eighth-ranked Canadians travel to Washington to face the top-ranked U.S. on July 2 at Audi Field.
Canada, which hasn't won in America since Nov. 11, 2000, has a 4-53-9 record against the U.S. that dates to 1986 when the Canadian women's program was established.
"Yeah, we all hate [the U.S. team]," said Huitema, smiling. "It's the rivalry we have. It's funny because I've been playing with so many of [their players] the last three, four years. I'm close friends with 95 per cent of them.
"I'll have brief conversations with them, and they'll say, 'We hate you guys. You're so nice, and we love you as people, but we hate you.' It's probably the most exciting game we get to play. It's the [one] you want to win, for sure."
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