Switzerland's Viola Calligaris right, and Canada's Adriana Leon battle for the ball during a women's international friendly soccer match between Switzerland and Canada, Friday, Oct. 24, 2025, in Lucerne, Switzerland. (Philipp Schmidli/Keystone via AP)

LUCERNE — Canada suffered a costly 1-0 loss to Switzerland in women's international soccer play Friday, losing star striker Olivia Smith to injury in the first half.

Alayah Pilgrim scored for the 24th-ranked Swiss at the Swissporarena in a game that was anything but friendly thanks to the physical Swiss. Ninth-ranked Canada had its chances, including two in stoppage time, but failed to take advantage, misfiring more often than not.

It was the first-ever win for the Swiss over Canada.

Canada outshot the Swiss 13-8 but only managed three shots on goal, compared to four for the home side.

Smith was hurt in a heavy fall in the 32nd minute, seemingly deliberately bodied to the ground by Swiss defender Viola Calligaris. Smith spent some five minutes on the turf receiving medical attention before being taken off the field in a golf cart.

The 21-year-old grimaced as she was lifted to her feet and was helped to the cart, not putting weight on her right leg. She looked distraught as she was driven off the field.

The play was not judged a foul by French referee Maika Vanderstichel, leaving irate Canada coach Casey Stoney protesting on the sideline. Smith had received physical treatment from the Swiss from the opening kickoff.

"Olivia's still being evaluated. She was in some pain," Stoney said after the match. "From where I stood, it was definitely a foul. And also from where I stood for 90 minutes, we didn't feel like we got an awful lot of decisions."

It was the first Canada start for Smith since signing with England's Arsenal from Liverpool in July for a then-world-record transfer fee of one million pounds ($1.86 million).

Smith, who was replaced by Marie-Yasmine Alidou, was not the only Canadian to feel the effects of Swiss roughhousing on the night. A lot went unpunished, with both teams called for seven fouls and shown one yellow card.

The Swiss put Canada under pressure early and reaped the benefits. The Canadian defence was torn open in the 12th minute with Pilgrim, who plays her club football for AS Roma, knocking the ball home from close range after several defenders failed to clear the ball.

Canada was coming off a disappointing 3-0 loss to the second-ranked Americans last time out on July 2, a setback Stoney called "a reality check for everybody."

Stoney lamented conceding an early goal but saw positives elsewhere.

"Second half we were much better," she said. "We created enough chances to win the game — very clear-cut chances as well. So we've got to be better in our execution in the final third (of the field). And we've got to be generally better in execution with the ball.

"But I don't feel like I did after the U.S. game, obviously, in terms of performance. I thought there were some really bright moments on the ball. We've created, I think, probably five, maybe six big chances today. They've created chances more from our turnovers, so that's something we've got to tidy up on. But I think we're heading in the right direction, albeit we're very, very disappointed we lost and we know there's lots of work to do."

The Canadian women face the 11th-ranked Netherlands on Tuesday in Nijmegen. They close out 2025 with a pair of games against No. 8 Japan during the November FIFA window.

Stoney fielded a strong starting 11 Friday that went into the match with a combined 813 caps.

Janine Sonis will rue missing four good chances, failing to add to her 36 goals for Canada.

The first came in the second minute, a chip shot that went just over the bar and Swiss goalkeeper Livia Peng, who plays her club football for England's Chelsea.

An unmarked Sonis had a glorious chance in the 19th minute, but her shot bounced off Peng's torso to safety. There was a virtual repeat of the play in the 45th minute with Peng blocking Sonis's shot again. Sonis skied a shot early in the second half and hit the goalpost on a deflected shot in the 86th minute.

Adriana Leon shot just wide in first-half stoppage time.

Jordyn Huitema, Ashley Lawrence, debutante Florianne Jourde and Nichelle Prince came in for Canada in the second half.

Canada was without injured goalkeeper Lysianne Proulx (Juventus), defenders Kadeisha Buchanan (Chelsea) and Vanessa Gilles?(Bayern Munich) and midfielder Simi Awujo?(Manchester United).

Carrying a knock sustained prior to arriving in camp, teenage striker Kaylee Hunter was unavailable for Tuesday's match.

The Canadians fell to 6-3-1 under Stoney, a former England captain. The Swiss are coached by 65-year-old Swede Pia Sundhage, whose distinguished coaching resume includes stints at the helm of the United States, Sweden and Brazil.

Canada was unbeaten in five previous meetings (4-0-1) with Switzerland and had won the last three matches, most recently in a 1-0 victory in round-of-16 play in Vancouver at the 2015 Women’s World Cup.

Switzerland hosted this summer's UEFA Women's Championship, losing 2-0 to eventual runner-up Spain in the quarterfinals.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2025.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2025