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From an early age, Buchanan, who was born in Toronto and raised in Brampton, developed that work ethic, pushed at home by six older sisters.

Photo by James Park / Postmedia

“I’m the baby,” she said. “They always picked on me, but soccer wise, growing up with that many siblings, it was good. You get to go out every day and train with someone. We always had competitions, 1v1, in the basement. They were never easy on me. They used to push me off the ball and I had to get tougher and stronger. Basically it was like training with a team in my house.”

It paid off. Buchanan was added to the national team soon after the 2012 Olympics, where the Canadians pulled off an amazing bronze-medal finish. Her stellar play on the back end prompted Canadian coach John Herdman to call her the “Christine Sinclair of defenders” — in reference to the longtime national-team standout forward.

“When I first heard it, I was a bit confused what that really meant,” said Buchanan. “But I realized how humble she is and what a silent leader she is. That’s what I took out of it. She performs 90 minutes game in and game out, she’s a very consistent player and I just try to follow in her footsteps. I want to be like her right now. I want to excel like she excels.”

Ironically enough, Buchanan ended Sinclair’s run of 11 straight BMO Player of the Year honours last season. But for her, it’s not about the me, it’s the we — specifically the Canadian team’s chances at the Rio Olympics.

“We’re definitely getting excited,” said Buchanan, who took a semester off school at West Virginia University (where she’s studying law and criminology) to focus on preparation for Rio. “I’ve been training for these Olympics since 2012. This will be the main stage and I’m excited to go toward it. Playing in the Olympics was a dream of mine growing up, but after 2012, it became a reality. It was, ‘I want to do this.’ I was even more determined.