Leon Gets Canada Started
Canada won the opening match of the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship. Canada won 1:0 over group opponent Costa Rica on the strength of a goal by Adriana Leon. Canada has three points after its first of three group matches at the 2010 competition.
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′
