Winnipeg soccer player talks first win at Rio Olympics

Women's soccer player Desiree Scott said her team had been waiting a long time for their first match at the Rio Games — and the wait was well worth it.

• Canadian women's soccer team wins Olympic opener over Australia

Scott, 29, and team Canada won against Australia Wednesday, beating the Aussies 2-0, two days before the Olympics officially begin in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

"To come away with a win, an exciting win — all of our families were saying they were on the edges of their seats," she said.

"It was just absolutely amazing."

Scott, a midfielder born and raised in Winnipeg, helped the Canadians win bronze in the London Olympics in 2012. Wednesday's game could not have started her second Olympics any better.

Just 21 seconds into Canada's match against Australia, Scott's teammate Janine Beckie scored Canada's first goal.

"It's the fastest goal we've ever seen … a start we never would have imagined," Scott said.

Australia proved to be tough competition, and Scott said her team had to give their all to keep their lead and add a second point during the 90-minute game.

"It took every inch of us and every bit of our energy to get that [win]," she said.

For 70 minutes the Canadian women's team was down one player due to a red card.

Scott said it took "grit" to push through the rest of the game one woman down against such a strong team.

"We just knew we had an end goal in mind. It's the Olympic Games and you're going to give every bit of yourself, put your body on the line — my quads were cramping in the 80th minute but I knew I had to keep going," she said.

Scott added a good start to the Olympics is "super important" to help set the stage for the rest of the games.

"This tournament is full of top quality, every game is really going to matter," Scott said.

Scott's next game is against Zimbabwe on Saturday, Aug. 6. in São Paulo, Brazil. 

• Meet the 11 Olympic athletes with ties to Manitoba