Agnew makes impression at Canada senior camp
It’s just February and Lindsay Agnew is already having a very good year.
Taken by the Washington Spirit in the January NWSL draft, the former Ohio State forward then made the most of her first camp with the senior Canadian national team.
“I was impressed,” said coach John Herdman.
Agnew, 21, didn’t figure in Canada’s 3-2 win over Mexico on Feb. 4, a match billed as a celebration of the Olympic bronze medal team. But Herdman said she was a “strong candidate” to play in the rematch, a closeddoor session that was eventually cancelled due to poor weather in Vancouver.
“What she’s showing is she’s bringing that Canadian steel,” Herdman said. “She’s got that natural grit that you see from the Tancredis and the Wilkinsons. But what we’ve been really impressed with in the intrasquads (was) she scored a lovely goal. And she’s got a real attacking mindset.”
Forward Melissa Tancredi and fullback Rhian Wilkinson, who have 306 caps between them, played their final game for Canada against Mexico.
An athletic five-foot-nine, Agnew is hard to knock off the ball and able to run at and beat defenders. And with 19 assists, fourth in Ohio State history, she can play provider, as well. More than a few Buckeye goals started with Agnew winning the ball in her own half.
Selected 19th overall, Agnew was the first Canadian taken in the 2017 NWSL draft. Teammate Nichelle Prince of Ajax., Ont., went 28th overall to the Houston Dash.
Agnew led the Buckeyes with 10 goals and eight assists in 21 games last season. Prince had five goals and five assists in 19 games. They were the first Ohio State players ever drafted in the NWSL.
Because of school commitments, Agnew did not attend the draft in Los Angeles. She watched it unfold online with Prince and her other roommates.
“I just heard when my name was called ... It was definitely a moment,” she said. “I was sitting there, I wasn’t expecting it. And then they said Lindsay and I still didn’t know if it was going to me. And they said Agnew and we all freaked out and starting screaming. It was pretty indescribable, a pretty surreal moment for me.” Prince went soon after. There was more good news when Herdman invited her to his first post-Olympic camp.
“It’s been a good 2017 so far,” Agnew said happily.