Kadeisha Buchanan
In May 2014, after Kadeisha Buchanan scored her first goal with Canada’s national team and shut down legendary striker Abby Wambach in a friendly against the U. S., Canadian coach John Herdman made a bold proclamation.
“I’m not frightened to say it: She’s the (Christine) Sinclair of defenders,” Herdman said of Buchanan. “She’s that good.”
It was high praise for the teenager from Brampton, Ont. A relative unknown at the beginning of the year, Buchanan finished it having made her mark on the international stage and piled up an impressive list of awards and honours. She even had her face on a postage stamp, along with Sinclair. She also turned 20. Less than two months ago. A tough central defender with a strong tactical understanding of the game, Buchanan played every minute of every game at the Women’s World Cup, where Canada made the quarter- finals but conceded just three goals total. Buchanan, who was playing through an abdominal strain, was the only Canadian named to the all- star team and was given the tournament’s Young Player Award. FIFA lauded her for her “demonstrated technical excellence and experience that belie her age.”
Buchanan later became the only defender shortlisted for the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year — the first Canadian to make the list since Sinclair after her heroic performance at the 2012 Olympics. Buchanan also unseated Sinclair as Canadian women’s player of the year — a title Sinclair had held since 2004. After her NCAA season at West Virginia, she was named a finalist for the Hermann Trophy as the top player in women’s college soccer, set to be announced Jan. 8.
Buchanan’s coach at West Virginia University, Nikki Izzo- Brown, said both Buchanan and Ashley Lawrence — long- time friend and fellow Mountaineer and Canadian team member — returned from the World Cup having become better leaders. This growth comes at a perfect time for Buchanan as Canada heads into an Olympic year with a wave of young talent — Buchanan, Lawrence, Jessie Fleming and Janine Beckie among them — poised to take over from the team’s veteran core.
“There’s a new DNA coming through,” Herdman said at the World Cup. Buchanan showed this year she is at the heart of that transition, blossoming as both a player and a leader.