“This will be another important test for as us Norway is consistently a strong nation,” said Canadian national head coach Carolina Morace.

This will be the first match between the two sides since the opening match of the FIFA Women’s World Cup China 2007 in Hangzhou, China. On that day, the Canucks jumped out to a 1-0 lead before Norway fought its way back with a pair of second-half goals to win the match. Norway went on to finish fourth in the championship while Canada finished ninth.

Both Norway and Canada are currently ranked amongst the top-10 nations on the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Rankings. Norway is 7th while Canada is 9th.

Canada will be in Norway from May 28 to June 4. The Norway camp will be preceded by an 11-day camp in Gaithersburg, MD, USA from May 17-27. Canada will be training at the Maryland SoccerPlex, but will also play an exhibition match on May 23 against the Washington Freedom of Women’s Professional Soccer.

Canada is currently preparing for its qualification efforts for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011. It will take part in the eight-team CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup later this year, with schedule and venues yet to be announced. The top two teams at the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup will qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011 in Germany while the third-place team will advance to a November playoff against the fifth-place team from Europe.

Canada Names U20 Vaughan Camp Roster
Canada’s women’s U-20 team has announced the roster for the second identification camp which runs this May 13-16 in Vaughan, ON. Coach Carolina Morace has selected 24 players for the four-day camp which will conclude with an exhibition match on May 16. Full Story

“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.

“Today was our first full international and it was a good performance,” said head coach Bryan Rosenfeld. “Regardless of today’s result, the team is confident in meeting our objective to qualify for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.”

In the first half, the match started with neither side creating much offence, although Mexico fired the first shot and Canada won the first corner kick. Canada did create some runs, but was unable to penetrate for a good chance. It’s best chance came in the 29th minute following a corner kick. Captain Nicole Setterlund got a head on the ball, but the weak header was stopped by the Mexican goalkeeper.

Five minutes later, Haisha Cantave had a good run heading towards the Mexican net, but the Canadian pass went to Mexico who quickly countered with a run in the opposite direction. With left back Katherine Caverley injured and down, Mexico ‘s Pina was alone to knock in the Mexican cross.

Following the goal, Canada responded well, but could not find an equaliser before the end of the half. As for Caverley, she missed almost four minutes before returning to action.

In the second half, Canada came out strong and was rewarded in the 52nd minute with a goal by Haisha Cantave. Cantave had a first chance three minutes earlier, but was stopped on her breakaway. On her second attempt, she made no mistake and evened the score. It was Nour Ghoneim and Kylie Davis that fed Cantave for the goal.

Canada wasn’t done, or so it hoped. In the 60th minute, Cantave fed Ghoneim who missed a golden opportunity with an open net. Five minutes later, Canada was buzzing again in the box, this time with shots from Diamond Simpson and Davis.

Fifteen minutes later in the 80th minute, Zakiya McIntosh had an even better chance after she broke in and beat the Mexican goalkeeper. McIntosh was close, but after beating the goalkeeper she knocked the ball out of play.

Five minutes later, Canada lost the match on a Mexican penalty kick after it brought a Mexican player down in the penalty area.

This was Canada’s first of three matches at the 2010 Four Nation Tournament in Trinidad & Tobago. Coach Bryan Rosenfeld’s starting XI featured goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo, left back Katherine Caverley, centrebacks Allison Clarke and Nicole Setterlund, right back Ally Courtnall, left midfield Chantale Campbell, centre midfield Kylie Davis, right midfield Diamond Simpson, and forwards Nour Ghoneim, Abigail Raymer and Haisha Cantave.

Canada’s three second-half substitutions were Zakiya McIntosh for Raymer in the 59th minute, Charléne Achille for Ghoneim in the 65th minute, and Kinley McNicoll for Campbell in the 81st minute.

Canada will next face Jamaica on March 3 at the 2010 Four Nation Tournament. Canada then wraps up the tournament on March 5 against tournament host Trinidad & Tobago.

Just how significant is Canada’s disappointing performance over the week end
No, not the national team.

In a match that was a major milestone of accomplishment, our 2014 World Cup team lost their first friendly 1 – 0 in Jamaica Sunday evening. The result there is secondary. What does matter is this match and the preceding training camp mark the first time our association demonstrated the will to make campaign and preparation two active words in their vocabulary.

It’s our under 20 women.

Full Story

“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′