Canada, Costa Rica to hit pitch in friendlies

WINNIPEG Canada’s national women’s soccer team will host Costa Rica for a two-match set in June, which will be played in Toronto and Winnipeg.

“I’m very fired up,” Team Canada’s Desiree Scott, a Winnipeg native, said at an announcement Tuesday at Winnipeg City Hall.

“Any time I’m coming back to Winnipeg, I’m excited. The fan support that was here the last time we played was incredible, and I expect even better this time around.”

The friendlies will be played at Winnipeg ’s Investors Group Field on June 8 and at Toronto’s BMO Field on June 11.

Canada, ranked No. 4 in the world, last played in the Manitoba capital against the U.S. in May 2014.

That game — a 1-1 draw — drew 28,255 fans, which at the time was the second-largest Canadian crowd to see a national women’s team match.

While the U.S. might be a bigger rival than Costa Rica, organizers say Canada is now the draw after winning bronze medals in the last two Olympic Games.

Scott, 29, said she hopes to stick around for one more shot at an Olympic gold. The road to the 2020 Games in Tokyo begins with an upcoming tournament in Portugal. That’s followed by games in April in Sweden, which won Olympic silver, and Germany, which brought home Olympic gold.

“It’s the start of a new quad, a new four-year process up to the next Olympics,” Scott said. “So this is just a stepping-stone in the journey. We’re talking about not taking any steps back.”

Group tickets for both the Winnipeg match and the Toronto match went on sale Tuesday, while general sales will begin on March 8.