Canadian international Janine Beckie had a dream return to the pitch 366 days after tearing her ACL.

Subbing into the second half of the Portland Thorns’ season opener on Mar. 16, Beckie buried two goals, including a screamer from distance.

Just don’t ask her to recall them.

“You hear athletes at the top of their games talk about that they feel like they were in a flow state when they were playing. To be honest, I don't remember anything about that for those 45 minutes. I don't even remember scoring,” she said. “I think that's just because I was so locked in.”

Over the weekend, Beckie made another much-anticipated return, starting for Canada against Brazil at the SheBelieves Cup in Atlanta.

It was Beckie’s first game for the national team since Feb. 22, 2023, in a match against Japan at that year’s edition of the SheBelieves Cup. She ended up tearing her ACL a few weeks later in an NWSL preseason game.

Beckie, a versatile player largely used as forward and wingback, played the first half of Canada’s match on Saturday. The game ended in a 1-1 draw, with Canada advancing on penalties to face the U.S. in the final on Tuesday.

According to Sofascore, Beckie finished with 44 touches on the ball, and also had a pair of scoring chances in the opening 15 minutes.

“All credit to Janine. It’s a physical game to come back from such a long time out,” head coach Bev Priestman said after Saturday’s match.

Beckie had originally targeted February’s CONCACAF W Gold Cup for a return to the national team, but both she and Canada’s staff felt it was best she remain in Portland for training and to pick up preseason minutes.

“I think Janine’s looked superb. I think we made the right decision to leave her, to just get some flow before the season kicked off,” Priestman told the media prior to start of the SheBelieves Cup.

That decision also allowed Beckie to come firing out of the gates for Portland’s season opener against Kansas City last month. She entered the game for the start of the........

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