UNO News Net: Canada Soccer’s Women’s National team unleashes a young guns roster for derby with USA

Fans will get the opportunity to see the future of Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team when it faces the USA 9 November in Vancouver at BC Place. With six teenagers named to the roster, Head Coach John Herdman is setting his sights on the future of the program and the goal of reaching #1 in the world.

“At this stage in the planning for 2019 it is a good time to provide a group of young players with the experience in preparing for and playing against the top ranked team in the world,” said Herdman on his roster selections. “We are underdogs as always going into a match against the USA, but when you have young hungry players, it brings a special quality.”

With 11 players from the 2016 Olympic Bronze Medal winning team, including two-time Olympic Bronze Medalists Christine Sinclair and Desiree Scott on the roster for the derby match, the young guns will have the support of veterans who have experience playing the USA in some of the biggest matches of their lives.

“Sinclair leadership, and experience against the US, will be a key factor in the lead up to this game as we integrate a host of new faces into the squad,” said Herdman. “With some of our core players unavailable for selection outside FIFA windows due to league play in Europe, it will also be an opportunity for some of the younger members of our core, like Rebecca Quinn, Janine Beckie, Jessie Fleming and Shelina Zadorsky, to step up and take greater leadership roles.”

The rivalry between Canada and the USA takes its form from the fact the two teams will often face off in major competitions, including the CONCACAF Women’s Championships that qualify teams for the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and Olympic tournaments. The cross-border rivalry has seen some of the most remarkable feats in women’s football, including Sinclair’s three goals in the semi-final of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

“I don’t think we need to remind many people about London, it was a watershed moment for this team, capturing the hearts and minds of our country,” said Herdman. “Although we’ve never beaten the USA in over 15 years, we have had some close matches with them and in our last five matches we have gone into the dressing at half time either been tied or leading the match. There’s a feeling that with our recent performances against them we are narrowing the gap between our two teams. As always we’ll be setting the tone for this derby match and asking both the players and the BC Place crowd to stand up and show their Canadian grit on November ninth as we push together to create another memorable moment for soccer in Canada."

Canada Soccer has released it’s top five moments from the Canada v USA rivalry in the lead up to the match, with Herdman’s and player’s reflections on those big five matches that defined the #WNTRivalry. Check out the series on Canada Soccer’s social media profiles on Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Canada will travel to San Jose, California for the second leg of the home and away series for the 12 November match at Avaya Stadium.

Fan Advisory
Fans attending the Canada v USA match on 9 November will have the opportunity to meet Brittany Timko Baxter, Chelsea Stewart and Kelly Parker, all members of Canada Soccer’s London 2012 Bronze medal winning team, prior to kick off on the BC Place stadium concourse (Section 216) from 18:15-18:45 PT, courtesy of Bell.

23,500+ Tickets Sold - Secure your seats today!
With over 23,500 tickets already snapped up by fans for the Canada leg, the 9 November match will become highest attended Canada Soccer Women’s National Team friendly match in Vancouver, surpassing the 22,508 record set in February 2017.

Canada v USA 9 November at BC Place
It will be a clash between arch rivals when Canada hosts USA at BC Place at 19:00 PT (22:00 ET) on 9 November in the first of two matches between the North American foes, with a second match set for 12 November in San Jose, USA. With Canada determined to reach the top of the FIFA world rankings, the battle between the world’s top ranked USA and fifth ranked Canada will be must-see matches. Individual tickets for the match in Vancouver are on sale via Ticketmaster.ca.

How to watch from home
The Vancouver match will be available to viewers LIVE on Thursday, 9 November at 19:00 PT on TSN1, followed by replays of the match on RDS2 Friday, 10 November at 19:00 ET and Saturday, 11 November at 07:30 ET

Canada Soccer Women’s National Team Roster for USA Friendly Series (Vancouver and San Jose)
Head Coach John Herdman
GK Stephanie Labbe, age 31, from Stony Plain, AB/ Washington Spirit (NWSL)
GK Sabrina D’Angelo, age 24, from Welland, ON/ North Carolina Courage (NWSL)
GK Kailen Sheridan, age 22, from Whitby, ON/ Sky Blue FC (NWSL)
FB Lindsay Agnew, age 22, from Kingston, ON/ Washington Spirit (NWSL)
FB Allysha Chapman, age 28, from Courtice, ON/ Boston Breakers (NWSL)
FB Jayde Riviere, age 16, from Markham, ON/ Markham Soccer Club (OPDL) & Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite/ Canada Soccer Regional EXCEL Super Centre (British Columbia)
CB Shelina Zadorsky, age 25, from London, ON/ Washington Spirit (NWSL)
CB Rebecca Quinn, age 22, from Toronto, ON/ Duke University (NCAA)
CB Ariel Young, age 16, from Ottawa, ON/ Ottawa Fury and Canada Soccer Regional EXCEL Super Centre (Ontario)
M Jessie Fleming, age 19, from London, ON/UCLA (NCAA)
M Julia Grosso, age 17, from Vancouver, BC/ Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite/ Canada Soccer Regional EXCEL Super Centre (British Columbia)
M/FB Maegan Kelly, age 25, from Kansas City, MO & Toronto, ON/ FC Kansas City (NWSL)
M Desiree Scott, age 30, from Winnipeg, MB/ FC Kansas City (NWSL)
F Christine Sinclair, age 34, from Burnaby, BC/ Portland Thorns (NWSL)
F Janine Beckie, age 23, from Highlands Ranch, CO/ Houston Dash (NWSL)
F Deanne Rose, age 18, from Alliston, ON/ University of Florida Gators (NCAA)
F Adriana Leon, age 25, from King City, ON/ Boston Breakers (NWSL)
F Nichelle Prince, age 22, from Ajax, ON/ Houston Dash (NWSL)
F Jordyn Huitema, age 16, from Chilliwack, BC/ Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite/ Canada Soccer Regional EXCEL Super Centre (British Columbia)

Additional Roster details:

The average age of the roster is 23.33 years.
11 Rio 2016 Olympic Bronze Medalists (Labbe, D’Angelo, Sinclair, Scott, Rose, Beckie, Prince, Fleming, Quinn, Zadorsky, Chapman)
Two 2x Olympic Bronze Medalists (Sinclair, Scott)
Six teenagers are on the roster (Huitema, Riviere, Fleming, Rose, Grosso, Young), all members of Canada Soccer’s EXCEL Program that brings together the best with the best at the national youth level. Operating across the U-14 to U-20 age groups, the program is designed to deliver an aligned talent structure and system that progresses more top players to Canada’s Women’s National Team.
All six teenagers on the roster continue to be eligible to play in youth competition next year.
- Rose, Fleming and Grosso are eligible to play in the CONCACAF Under 20 Women’s Championship Trinidad & Tobago 2018 and FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup France 2018
- Huitema, Riviere and Young are eligible to play in the CONCACAF Women's Under-17 tournament Nicaragua 2018 and FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Uruguay 2018 or the CONCACAF Under 20 Women’s Championship Trinidad & Tobago 2018 and FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup France 2018
- Grosso, Huitema, Riviere, and Young are also all eligible to play in Under-20 competition in 2020, with Young eligible to continue in under-20 competition through 2022.
Four players will dress for the first time for Canada Soccer’s Women’s National team: Riviere, Young, Grosso, and Kelly.
Collectively, the roster has 731 appearances for Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team. Breakdown: Sinclair (259), Scott (126), Fleming (45), Labbe (44), Chapman (44), Leon (41), Beckie (34), Zadorsky (31), Quinn (31), Prince (30), Rose (28), D’Angelo (5), Agnew (5), Sheridan (4), Huitema (4), Riviere (0), Young (0), Grosso (0), Kelly (0).
Players on the roster have collectively scored 216 goals for Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team. Breakdown: Sinclair (168), Beckie (18), Rose (7), Leon (6), Prince (6), Fleming (4), Quinn (3), Huitema (2), Chapman (1), Zadorsky (1).
12 players on the roster currently play in the NWSL (Sinclair, Scott, Beckie, Prince, Leon, Chapman, Zadorsky, Labbe, Sheridan, D’Angelo, Agnew and Kelly). Sinclair’s Portland Thorns are the 2017 NWSL Champions.
Four players are currently in Canada Soccer’s EXCEL Program (Huitema, Grosso, Young, and Riviere).
Three players are currently playing NCAA soccer (Rose, Fleming, and Quinn)
Canada Soccer Women’s National Team players currently playing in European leagues were unavailable for selection outside of the FIFA’s designated international windows due to league play for their respective teams.

Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team has a 6-1-2 record in 2017

Date/Link	Location	Match Type	Score	Opponent	Attendance
2017-06-11	Toronto, ON, CAN	Women's International Friendly	6 – 0	CRC	20628
2017-06-08	Winnipeg, MB, CAN	Women's International Friendly	3 – 1	CRC	14434
2017-04-09	Erfurt, GER	Women's International Friendly	1 – 2	GER	10023
2017-04-06	Trelleborg, SWE	Women's International Friendly	1 – 0	SWE	2157
2017-03-08	São João da Venda, POR	Algarve Women's Cup	0 – 1	ESP	300
2017-03-06	São João da Venda, POR	Algarve Women's Cup	0 – 0	POR	150
2017-03-03	São João da Venda, POR	Algarve Women's Cup	2 – 1	RUS	75
2017-03-01	Lagos, POR	Algarve Women's Cup	1 – 0	DEN	150
2017-02-04	Vancouver, BC, CAN	Women's International Friendly	3 – 2	MEX	22508