Leroux leads U.S. on 'hometown' pitch

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Before Sydney Leroux took the field for the second half of Sunday's Olympic qualifying tournament match, American veteran Abby Wambach turned to her 21-year-old substitute and said, "Start scoring goals for this country."

Apparently, she listens well.

Despite not playing the first half, Leroux scored five goals in Sunday's 13-0 blowout win against Guatemala, tying the American women's record last accomplished ... well, two nights earlier when teammate Amy Rodriguez also scored five in the second half of a 14-0 rout over the Dominican Republic. Thus, in just her second international game for the United States (she played all of five minutes in a tournament game last year), Leroux joined a select scoring club of Rodriguez, Wambach, Brandi Chastain, Michelle Akers and Tiffeny Milbrett. And she did it in her hometown in front of her family, friends and, well, "others."

"It's pretty sweet," Leroux said of having such a performance in Vancouver. "I know there are some people who don't respect my decision and some people who do. Not everyone is going to like you, and I feel like you have to have some enemies in life or you're not doing something right. I'm happy. I'm happy where I am. I'm happy to wear this jersey."

So are the Americans, who are guaranteed a spot in the semifinals on Jan. 27. As for Canadians? Maybe not so much for some.

Leroux has dual citizenship as an American and Canadian -- her mother is Canadian and her father is American. She grew up in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey and played for the Canadian national under-19 team when she was 14. But she switched to the American side in 2008, to the obvious annoyance of some fans who booed her often during Sunday's game. A couple even repeatedly chanted "Judas!" whenever she touched the ball.

"I heard some people were booing me," Leroux said, "but I think after the fourth goal they stopped."

Umm, no, they didn't.

"No? Well, they should have."

Leroux could have broken the single-game record, but missed a makeable shot in the 87th minute. "It's OK. I have something to look forward to in years to come."

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Jeff Vinnick/Getty ImagesAbby Wambach's two goals Sunday pushed her into third on the career goals list for women's international soccer with 129 goals, behind only Mia Hamm (158) and Kristine Lilly (130).

U.S. coach Pia Sundhage called Leroux's game "astonishing."

"Coming off the bench and scoring so many goals like Amy Rodriguez the other day, I'm so proud and happy to be around this team," Sundhage said. "Because it's never happened before. So many goals, so many great goals. I'm happy for the team."

Of course, these astonishing scores wouldn't be happening if there wasn't such a disparity among the tournament teams. The losing teams have been outscored 51-0 in the eight games. Meanwhile, the U.S. has scored more goals each game than it ever had before (the previous record was 12, back in 1991). Ten U.S. players had a goal or an assist Sunday, including Wambach, who scored twice to pass Germany's Birgit Prinz for third place on the international career list with 129, and Lori Lindsey, who scored her first international goal.

"I'm 128 goals behind Abby, so she should get nervous," Lindsey said. "I'm right on her heels."

"We understand that 13-, 14-goal games may be looked down upon by some of our viewers, our fans, fans of other countries," Wambach said, "but the truth is, we didn't get our job done the last qualifying tournament and this is a statement that we're making to the rest of the world."

Dominican Republic coach Rufino Sotolongo, whose team has been outscored 21-0 in two games in the tournament, said he wasn't upset at the way the U.S. kept pushing up the score Friday night.

"No," he said Saturday through a Spanish interpreter. "As you know, our girls, even though we had so many goals against, kept fighting and never gave up. They demonstrated they are brave and courageous, and that we can get through in the future. ... I have a philosophy -- in order to get better, one has to play big, important teams."

The United States finally faces a better opponent Tuesday when it finishes the group stage against Mexico, which beat the Americans in the World Cup qualifying tournament. The outcome is important because the winner will play the second-place team from the other group Friday, rather than the first-place team (likely Canada). The winners of the semifinal games earn berths to the Olympics.

"It's important that everybody be firing on all cylinders when we play Mexico," Wambach said. "That's obviously the game that's been marked on our calendars this entire tournament."

Jim Caple is a senior writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached here. His website is at jimcaple.net.