Youth served on Canadian women’s soccer team as road to Rio begins
TORONTO — While not dismissing the first three teams Canada will face at next month’s Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship in Texas, coach John Herdman acknowledges it all boils down to Game 4.
A win in the semifinal and Canada is headed to Rio, looking to add to the bronze it won in heroic fashion four years ago in London.
Herdman has retooled his squad for the Olympic qualifier, shedding 10 members of his 23-woman World Cup roster last summer — including Crofton native Emily Zurrer — for a trimmed-down 20-player roster.
Captain Christine Sinclair and six other veterans of 2012 Olympic team remain for the Feb. 10-21 qualifier. But Herdman has infused youth into the squad with seven players 20 years old and under.
Players range in age from 16-year-old midfielder Deanne Rose to 34-year-old forward Melissa Tancredi.
Playing in Group B, 11th-ranked Canada opens against No. 89 Guyana on Feb. 11 before facing No. 48 Trinidad and Tobago on Feb. 14 and No. 76 Guatemala on Feb. 16.
Group A play, featuring the top-ranked Americans, No. 26 Mexico, No. 34 Costa Rica, and No. 108 Puerto Rico, takes place in Frisco outside Dallas.
The top two teams in each group play in the crossover semifinals Feb. 19 with the winners booking their ticket to Rio de Janeiro as representatives of North and Central America and the Caribbean. The championship game goes Feb. 21.
“The game we have to be freshest for is Game 4,” Herdman told a media conference call Tuesday. “Whether that’s the U.S., Costa Rica or Mexico. We have to get through the other games and put ourselves in a good position to be at our best for that fourth game.”
Herdman has divided his team into three groups: the veterans, inbetweeners and new faces. He’ll dig into each talent pool for the opening games, then roll out his best lineup for the key semifinal.
Despite the youthful additions, there is plenty of experience. The 32-year-old Sinclair and Tancredi are joined by fellow Olympic veterans Diana Matheson, Erin McLeod, Desiree Scott, Sophie Schmidt and Rhian Wilkinson. Together they have 1,035 caps for Canada.
Defender Kadeisha Buchanan (44 caps) and midfielder Ashley Lawrence (26), both 20 years old, have already integrated themselves into the lineup. Teenage midfielder Jessie Fleming (17 caps) has also earned her dues.
But the rest of the 20-andunder corps — defender Rebecca Quinn, midfielder Rose and forwards Nichelle Prince and Gabrielle Carle — have 24 caps between them.
Still the youngsters can contribute, said Herdman. In reviewing Canada’s quarter-final exit at the World Cup, he concluded the team needed more pace up front — with Prince, Rose and 21-yearold Janine Beckie fitting the bill.