Clare Ada Rustad (born May 27, 1983) is a Canadian broadcaster and former

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. Her last club was the

Toronto Lady Lynx Toronto Lady Lynx was a Canadian women's soccer team, founded in 2005. The team was a member of the USL W-League, formerly the second tier of women’s soccer in the United States and Canada. The team played in the Great Lakes Division of the Cen ...

in 2010. She played for

Canada women's national soccer team The Canada women's national soccer team () represents Canada in international soccer competitions. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association, the governing body for soccer in Canada. The team reached international prominence at the ...

between 2000 and 2008, making 45 appearances and scoring three goals.

Playing career

Club

Rustad played collegiate soccer for the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

between 2001 and 2004, and professionally for

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...

. She is a distinguished alumnus of Gordon Head Soccer Association.

International

Rustad competed for the Canada national under-19 soccer team at the

2002 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship The 2002 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship was held from 17 August to 1 September. It was the first sanctioned youth tournament for women put together by FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada. FIFA granted the tournament to Canada in March ...

, winning the silver medal. She made her international debut for Canada on June 26, 2000 against

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in the

2000 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup The 2000 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup was the fifth staging of the CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup, and the first after being rebranded as the Women's Gold Cup. Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in S ...

. Rustad scored her first goal for the senior team on September 4, 2003 in a 6-0 friendly win over

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. She last represented Canada at the

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, reaching the quarterfinals and retiring from international football afterwards.

Broadcasting career

Rustad has served as a soccer analyst on

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

, TSN and

Sportsnet Sportsnet is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language Discretionary service, discretionary sports broadcasting, sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture betw ...

for events including the Pan Am Games, the FIFA Women's World Cup, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Rustad was the colour commentator at the

2024 Paris Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

for the CBC.

Personal life

Rustad grew up on

Saltspring Island Salt Spring Island or Saltspring Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia, Canada, and Vancouver Island. The island was initially inhabited by various Salishan peoples before being settled ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. She began medical school at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

in 2008 and graduated in 2012. She has a

molecular biology Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...

degree from the

and a master's degree in

epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and Risk factor (epidemiology), determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population, and application of this knowledge to prevent dise ...

from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. Dr. Rustad is currently a family doctor on Saltspring Island. In March 2013, Rustad joined the National Organizing Committee for the

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the f ...

held in Canada.

Honours

* Brian Budd Award: 2023 * BC Soccer Hall of Fame: 2022

References

External links

* *
Gordon Head Soccer Association

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rustad, Clare 1983 births Living people Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Canadian expatriate women's soccer players Canadian women's soccer players Canada women's international soccer players Soccer players from North Vancouver University of Washington alumni Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic soccer players for Canada Washington Huskies women's soccer players USL W-League (1995–2015) players Vancouver Whitecaps FC (women) players Women's association football defenders Women's association football midfielders Toronto Lady Lynx players Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States 21st-century Canadian sportswomen