“Jamaica came out stronger than they did when we played them eight days ago,” said national head coach Bryan Rosenfeld. “They were stronger and put pressure on us. Eventually, we were able to break them down.”

Canada’s previous 4:1 victory over Jamaica was on 3 March at the Women’s Under-17 Four Nation Tournament in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago.

For the opener of the CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championship, Rosenfeld’s starting XI featured Sabrina D’Angelo in goal, Katherine Caverly at left back, Alison Clarke and Nicole Setterlund at centre back, Ally Courtnall at right back, Kylie Davis, Diamond Simpson and Chantale Campbell at midfield, and Caroline Beauline, Nour Ghoneim and Haisha Cantave up front.

Canada attacked from the opening whistle, winning back-to-back corner kicks in the first few minutes. While Canada did not score on those first two opportunities, it did score on its third try. Following a great run down the wing by right back Courtnall , Canada won its third corner kick in the seventh minute. Campbell took the kick and Davis knocked it in for a 1-0 Canadian lead.

As the first half continued, Canada maintained plenty of possession. It had its fair share of chances, too. In the 10th minute, Beaulne broke in, but put her shot just wide. Then in the 15th minute, it was Simpson with a run, but she was stopped by the goalkeeper Shantel Graham.

In the 19th minute, Campbell struck a powerful shot from 25 yards out that hit the crossbar.

In the 32nd minute, Courtnall had another good run, but this time cut in and came down the centre. She nearly beat the goalkeeper Graham, but was tackled just in time.

In the 38th minute, Jamaica won what could have been a dangerous free kick, but the kick from 25 yards out was struck wide.

As the first half neared the end, Canada again forced Jamaica back on its heels. In the 42nd minute, Simpson and Davis combined well, but the return couldn’t meet an on-rushing Cantave. Just two minutes later, Davis in the penalty area played it perfectly over to Ghoneim who made no mistake for a 2-0 Canadian lead.

In the second half, it was more of the same as Canada continued its attack on Jamaica . Davis had the first good shot from close range in the 47th minute, but it was stopped by Graham. In the 54th minute, Beaulne got past the defence, but slipped before she could fire a shot. Then in the 58th minute, captain Setterlund fired a powerful shot that just went over the crossbar.

In the 63rd minute, Ghoneim made it 3-0 after taking a long pass from Caverly. Ghoneim made a touch to get around the goalkeeper and then fired it into the goal.

Up 3-0, Canada made its first of two substitutions, replacing Cantave for midfielder Sabrina Hémond. Canada’s second substitution was made shortly after it conceded the Jamaica goal, replacing Beaulne with Zakiya McIntosh.

Jamaica’s lone goal was scored in the 76th minute. A Jamaica long ball was played over the Canadian defence and won by Williams against an on-rushing D’Angelo. Williams stepped past a fallen D’Angelo and slid the ball into an empty net.

As for Canada’s fourth goal, it was scored in the 87th minute by Hémond.

“We stuck to the game plan and we played a great game,” said Canada’s first goal scorer Davis.

Canada now has two days of rest before it takes on Panama on Saturday 13 March. Canada’s third match of the group stage will be Monday 15 March.

“Our team is anxious to compete in the CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championship,” said national coach Bryan Rosenfeld. “We just finished competing in three important international matches in preparation for this competition. With a few days of rest and recovery from that competition, we are ready for our first group game against Jamaica .”

In preparation for the CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championship, Rosenfeld and his squad recently took part in the Women’s Under-17 Four Nation Tournament in Trinidad and Tobago. Canada finished second behind Mexico after posting one win, one draw and one loss in three international games in San Fernando , Trinidad and Tobago. The San Fernando camp was Canada’s second women’s U-17 camp of the 2010 season.

“All three matches brought different challenges, so I was pleased as to how the team responded,” said Rosenfeld. “I was pleased as to how the team responded with each game.”

All 20 players selected to Canada’s teams have previously participated in either the National Training Centres or BMO National Championships or both. Of note, two players are taking part in their second CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championship, goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo and Diamond Simpson.

Canada has spent the last few days in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The team departs for Alajuela, Costa Rica on Tuesday March 9. In Costa Rica, Canada will face Jamaica on March 11, Panama on March 13 and Mexico on March 15. The semi-final stage is 18 March while the final is 20 March. All 16 matches in the eight-team championship will be played at Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto. Every match will be broadcast live via CONCACAF.com.

The CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championship is played every team years. This year, only the top-two teams will qualify for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Trinidad and Tobago 2010. As host of this year’s FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, Trinidad and Tobago has already qualified and will not compete in the confederation championship.

“We played a good game, but at the end of the day, you have to put the ball in the back net,” said coach Carolina Morace.

Canada maintained the bulk of possession and kept pushing forward throughout the match, but was unable to score the equalizer. As such, Canada finishes fourth at the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship and did not qualify for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Germany 2010.

“We played our hearts out,” said captain Chelsea Stewart.

Costa Rica’s lone goal was scored on a free kick fired from down the left side. Alvarado ignored her teammates in the box and went straight for goal with a shot that sailed above the defence and into the net.

Down 0-1, Canada countered quickly and pushed Costa Rica back into its own end. Unfortunately, Canada could not penetrate Costa Rica’s penalty area with enough regularity to threaten for goal.

Canada’s best chance in the first half was a shot from outside the box by Bryanna McCarthy. The shot was almost on target, but landed on top of the netting instead of below the bar.

In the second half, Canada had plenty of possession, but could not connect for the equalizing goal. It had a decent chance in the 47th minute with a cross from the right side, but substitute Julie Casselman’s header was stopped by Costa Rica’s goalkeeper Priscilla Tapia.

Canada kept trying to build its play to get behind the Costa Rica defence, but could not break the opponent’s back line.

Finally in the 84th minute, Canada created a wonderful opportunity thanks to the hard work by forward Chloé Malette. With Costa Rica trolling the ball down the right side, Malette came in from behind to steal the ball and then carry it towards the box. She was upended just before she reached the penalty area, thus winning Canada a valuable free kick.

McCarthy took the free kick from the right side with eight white shirts in and around the box. Chénard came in and connected for the header, but goalkeeper Tapia stopped the ball on the line.

Canada continued to push in the dying minutes, but could not connect for that elusive goal. The final whistle blew with Canada on the wrong side of an 0:1 loss.

Yet again, Canada started the game with a new formation, of note this time without injured centre back Lexi Marton. Canada’s starting XI featured Cynthia Leblanc in goal, Vanessa Legault-Cordisco at left back, Shannon Woeller and Bahar Sansar at centre back, Molly Allen at right back, Christabel Oduro at left midfield, Chelsea Stewart and Laura Chénard at centre midfield, Bryanna McCarthy at right midfield, and Rehana Murani and Chloé Malette up front.

Julie Casselman replaced Oduro in the 20th minute, Adriana Leon replaced Murani in the 46th minute, and Gina Pacheco replaced Casselman in the 66th minute.

Canada finishes the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship with a record of three wins and two losses. It finished fourth behind Costa Rica, Mexico and CONCACAF champion USA.

Canada fail in bid to repeat as champions
In a semi-final match that went into extra time to decide a winner, Canada was knocked out of the CONCACAF under-20 women’s tournament by Mexico. The lone goal of the match came off a corner by Charlyn Corral in the 104th minute. Mishandled, the ball found a way over the line in the most cruel of ways for keeper Cynthia Leblanc whose stand-out performance was the lone reason Canada still had a chance.

The Mexicans presented a well organized, technically sound and tactically understanding problem our Canadian girls could not overcome.

Full Story

“For what we have shown in four matches thus far, we deserved to qualify today,” said national coach Carolina Morace. “I would have preferred that we played poorly and won.”

Either team could have won it in regulation time. Canada had the greater number of chances while Mexico ’s Sandra Mayor hit the post in the 73rd minute. Canada ’s Shelina Zadorsky hit the post in extra time in the 97th minute, but it was Mexico that scored the winner just seven minutes later. A Verónica Corral corner kick in the 104th minute slipped through goalkeeper’s Cynthia Leblanc’s fingers and into the net.

Canada had two wonderful chances in the opening 25 minutes of the match, twice on the right foot of Chloé Malette. On the first chance, Julie Casselman played the ball wonderfully forward to Malette. With Mexico’s goalkeeper Aurora Santiago already out by 15 yards, Malette tried but failed to chip the ball over the goalkeeper.

Almost 15 minutes later, Malette caught a throw in from Bryanna McCarthy, beat the two checking Mexicans, ran through another pair of defenders, but then hurried her shot wide.

Two more chances late in the first half came off headers inside the Mexican 18-yard box. In the 38th minute, Casselman crossed a ball just past the net that Malette headed only a foot wide of the right post. Then in the 40th minute, captain Chelsea Stewart beat two Mexican defenders down the right side to cross the ball into the box. Casselman did her best to get into position, but did not get a strong enough header to beat Santiago.

“That is the key to international experience,” said Morace. “When you have one occasion to score, you have to score.”

Early in the second half, Adriana Leon made a great run down the right side and crossed the ball across the goalmouth. Neither of Canada’s two onrushing players – Malette or Casselman – could touch the ball into the net.

Canada made two of its three substitutions in the second half, first Jenna Richardson for Malette in the 61st minute and then Shelina Zadorsky for Casselman in the 74th minute. Just four minutes off the bench, Richardson had a good first chance that went just wide of the net.

In the 67th minute, Leon played a pass to Chelsea Stewart who fired a shot just wide of the net. Then in the 83rd minute, she produced a great dribble before passing the ball to Richardson. Richardson played the ball forward to Gina Pacheco, but then Pacheco was outmuscled off the ball.

Late in the half, Richardson made a great run down the right side, but couldn’t get a strong enough cross from the touchline. Just over a minute later, Pacheco tried her speed down the right side, but her cross was cleared by the Mexican defence.

In extra time, Canada made its final substitution in the 98th minute, bringing on Rachel Lamarre for Leon. The change came with Canada building the momentum. It was just one minute earlier that Zadorsky fired that terrific shot off the outside of the left post.

At the other end, Canadian goalkeeper Cynthia Leblanc was her usual terrific self. She made an excellent diving stop in the 92nd minute and then later cut down the angles to force Corral to shoot wide in the 102nd minute.

Unfortunately, Leblanc did not have luck on her side in the 104th minute when Corral fired a corner kick into the air. Leblanc went up to catch the ball, but it slipped through her hands into the net.

“I felt bad for Cynthia because she played so well,” said coach Morace.

After the goal, both sides had chances in the last 15 minutes. Leblanc made an excellent save in the 116th minute while Canada played without central defender Lexi Marton who was briefly sidelined from a collision on defence. Then Mexico’s defence was strong in blocking what could have been a dangerous shot from Canada ’s Richardson in the 119th minute.

Canada gave it all that it could, but did not have enough to score the equalizer.

“We were worried about extra time because many of our players had been sick,” said Morace. “They did well, but we knew that they only had so much.”

Canada will look to rebound quickly on Friday before playing its final match of the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship on Saturday January 30. Canada will face Costa Rica at 13.30 local time in the match for third place. The winner will qualify for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Germany 2010.

“Our players did what was asked of them,” said national coach Carolina Morace. “I am happy that after three games we have improved every match.”

Adriana Leon, Vanessa Legault-Cordisco and Bryanna McCarthy all scored for Canada while Shannon Brooks countered for Guatemala .

Both sides started strong as they pressed for the opening goal. Guatemala managed a couple of shots in the first 10 minutes, but eventually Canada ’s speed started to penetrate up top with Leon making her runs. Leon missed on a first chance, but then struck for goal in the 14th minute to give Canada a 1-0 lead. Leon ran the ball into the box and fired it past the Guatemala goalkeeper Stephani Castellon.

Guatemala didn’t fall back, but they were soon in trouble again after fouling Chloé Malette in the box. The foul was committed right in the line of view of referee Shane DeSilva. Canada ’s Legault-Cordisco fired the penalty into the right side of the net for a 2-0 Canadian lead.

Then in the 38th minute, McCarthy out-muscled the Guatemalan defender on the ball before stepping in to score Canada ’s third goal of the half. McCarthy first beat Ana Marrroquin and then beat Brooks before firing her shot on goal. The goal wrapped up Canada ’s best 45 minutes to date in the tournament.

In the second half, coach Morace made three changes to rest some of her key players. In the 48th and 49th minutes, Leon and McCarthy were replaced by Rachel Lamarre and Rehani Murani. Then in the 68th minute, Lexi Marton was replaced by Bahar Sansar.

In between the substitutions, Guatemala brought the crowd to its feet with a goal against Canada . Guatemala created good pressure and was eventually rewarded with the Brooks goal in the 55th minute of play.

“It was a pity that we gave up the one goal, but it was just a moment in which we lost concentration,” said coach Morace.

Guatemala did create more chances late in the game, but the Canada defence held its ground. The win improved Canada ’s all-time record at the CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship to 17 wins and one loss, the best of any nation at this competition. Canada has won eight straight games at this level.

For the second game in a row, Morace switched her lineup to rest some players. The starting XI featured Cynthia Leblanc in goal, Molly Allen, Shannon Woeller, Marton and Legault-Cordisco on defence, Julie Casselman, Chelsea Stewart, Gina Pacheco and McCarthy at midfield, and Malette and Leon up front.

Leon scored her second goal of the tournament while both Legault-Cordisco and McCarthy scored their first international goals.

After squandering numerous opportunities in the first half, captain Chelsea Stewart buried home the first goal of the match in the 59th minute. She was in the right place at the right time to put the ball into the top right corner of the net.

Finally 28 minutes later, Jenna Richardson afforded Canada the breathing room with the second goal of the match. Laura Chénard’s shot in was tipped by Richardson before it bounced innocently off the post and into the net.

It was Canada’s second-straight victory at the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship, pushing the team into first place in the four-team group. A win or draw on Sunday against Guatemala will qualify Canada for the semi-final stage.

“We improved from the first game, but we have to improve more,” said national coach Carolina Morace. “We didn’t see the same mistakes from the first game. When we have the opportunity to score, however, we have to take advantage.”

After a slow start against Costa Rica, Canada came out flying against Cuba with its first good chance in the second minute. Striker Adriana Leon pushed the defence back and created a chance for Stewart, but Stewart’s shot was high. Canada continued to push forward for the opening minutes, but eventually became frustrated as it failed to build the offence. Cuba pushed back and created a few chances of its own, but neither team was able to find the back of the net.

In the second half, Canada came out strong again and nearly made it 1-0 in the 51st minute. Chloé Malette have a chance when she headed the ball almost on target, but the ball hit the outside of the post and stayed on. Eight minutes later, Stewart finally made it 1-0.

Cuba had a terrific chance in the 70th minute after Canada gave up too much space to the advancing opponent. Cuba strode into the 18-yard box and fired a shot that was blocked by the Canadian defence. There was a second chance on the rebound, but the ball stayed out.

Richardson’s goal in the 87th minute ensured the Canadian victory. Cuba had another good chance in the 90th minute, but Leblanc preserved the clean sheet. Leblanc had the help of defenders Bryanna McCarthy, Shannon Woeller, Bahar Sansar and Vanessa Legault-Cordisco.

Neither team penetrated deep in the opening 25 minutes, although Costa Rica seemed to have the greater ball possession. Canada was still, however, showing its speed and eventually forced its first corner kick in the 22nd minute on a good run by Leon . On the ensuing play, the ball came to Taylor Patterson who headed the ball just a couple of feet wide of the right post.

Canada also had to be sharp in its own end. Goalkeeper Cynthia Leblanc made a good save in the 26th minute and then a diving save in the 32nd minute which conceded the first Costa Rica corner kick. Less than five minutes later, Leblanc was again diving to push out the ball after Katherine Alvarado Aguilar tried to pick the top left corner of the goal.

Leon , though, scored the lone goal of the half in the 29th minute. She made no mistake in the six-yard box when the ball came to her feet.

“It was a little bit of a relief when I scored the goal,” said Adriana Leon. “I had a few chances before but didn’t execute. When I scored that goal, it felt great to put Canada up 1-0.”

In the second half, both teams had some chances, but neither team really threatened with any momentum. In the 77th minute, Costa Rica fired a dangerous free kick that Leblanc pushed over the crossbar.

Canada had five corner kicks in the second half after just one in the first half. Coach Morace also made three changes during the second half, switching forwards Rachel Lamarre for Jenna Richardson in the 57th minute, Leon for Christabel Oduro in the 67th minute, and midfielder Patterson for Bahar Sansar in the 86th minute.

Goalkeeper Cynthia Leblanc posted the clean sheet with the help of her backline in Bryanna McCarthy, Lexi Marton, Shannon Woeller and Molly Allen. Of note, Marton was selected Canada ’s player of the match. The other starting players were Patterson, Laura Chénard, Gina Pacheco and captain Chelsea Stewart at midfield, and forwards Leon and Lamarre up front.

“Our Canadian defenders handled the match extremely well,” said Leblanc. “We were able to stay calm while playing the ball often to capitalize on Costa Rica’s weaknesses.”

For Leon, it was her first goal in her first international youth match. It was also the 1,100th goal in the history of the CONCACAF qualifiers for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup (183 matches since December 2001). The victory helped Canada improve to 15 wins and one loss all-time at the CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship. Canada has won each of its last six games in competition and has won all three of its games against Costa Rica .

Before the match, both sides stood for a moment of silence in honour of the Haiti Football Association which lost members in the recent earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti . Canada also wore a black armband on the left arm of its red jersey.

Canada is one of eight teams participating in the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship. The team’s second match is January 22 against group opponent Cuba .

Starting Lineup
Cynthia Leblanc, Bryanna McCarthy, Lexi Marton, Shannon Woeller, Molly Allen, Taylor Patterson, Laura Chénard, Gina Pachecho, Chelsea Stewart, Rachel Lamarre, Adriana Leon

Substitutes
Jenna Richardson (Rachel Lamarre) 57′
Christabel Oduro (Adriana Leon) 67′
Bahar Sansar (Taylor Patterson) 86′

Scorers
Adriana Leon 29′

“We have an excellent group of skilled athletes, but also players that can fill multiple roles in a tournament such as this,” said Morace. “The high quality of players in this final camp made it very difficult to select only 20 players.”

Canada’s women’s U-20 team has been training this past week in Tampa, FL at the University of South Florida campus. The team spent seven days in Tampa before departing this Monday morning for Guatemala. Canada opens the confederation championship on January 20 against Costa Rica. Additional group matches are January 22 against Cuba and January 24 against host Guatemala.

The top two teams from each four-team group will advance to the semi-final stage on 28 January. Three of those four teams will qualify for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Germany 2010 which runs July 13 through August 1. The CONCACAF final will be played on 30 January.

Canada’s 20-player roster features players born 1990 or later. There are three returning members from the last FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Chile 2008: defenders Lexi Marton, Shannon Woeller and defender/midfielder and 2009 Canadian Player of the Year Chelsea Stewart. There are also four players from the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup team that reached the quarter-final stage at New Zealand 2008: goalkeeper Cynthia Leblanc, defenders Bryanna McCarthy and Shelina Zadorsky, and forward Rachel Lamarre.

There are several new faces to the program who have performed well at Canada ’s National Training Centres (NTC), the BMO National Championships, and last year’s Canada Games Women’s Soccer Tournament. Of note, Canada Games bronze medalist and Top Scorer Adriana Leon, silver medalist captain Laura Chénard, and gold medalist and MVP Jenna Richardson are all part of this team.

Along with the official 20-player roster, Canada will travel with three additional players in case of injury. These players are: Helena Brooke McCurdy (ON), Catherine Charron-Delage (QC) and Hannah Rivkin (NL). From the entire group of 23 players, there are 10 players who were born in 1992 that will still be eligible for the next CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship in 2012.

To date, Canada has qualified for every FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, starting with a silver medal performance at the inaugural championship held in Canada in 2002. At the confederation level, Canada has won the 2004 and 2008 CONCACAF championships.

Canada’s qualification route for the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup Germany 2010 is fast approaching. The eight-team confederation qualification – the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship – runs 18-31 January in Guatemala. Canada plays Costa Rica on 20 January, Cuba on 22 January and host Guatemala on 24 January.

The Canadian camp features six new players: goalkeeper Helena Brooke McCurdy from Peterborough, ON, forward Julie Casselman from Gatineau, QC, midfielder Catherine Charron-Delage from Longueuil, QC, defender Vanessa Legault-Cordisco of Boisbriand, QC, forward Adriana Leon from Maple, ON, and midfielder Christabel Odura from Brampton, ON. Of note, Leon was the Top Scorer at the 2009 Canada Games Women’s Soccer Tournament.

The 2010 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship will qualify three teams for the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup Germany 2010.