(This story was updated at 5:45 p.m. on November 10, with updates in italics.)
No rest for the weary, as they say. With a gold medal at the Pan Am Games still fresh in the collective memory, the women's national team will assemble in Phoenix this Saturday for a 10-day camp ahead of a closed-door friendly against Sweden on Nov. 22. The game itself holds little value, other than as an opportunity to put what's learned on the training ground into effect against live opposition.
The real value here is in giving the team a solid opportunity to connect with (relatively) new head coach John Herdman, and reconnect with each other, ahead of the all-important Olympic qualifying tournament in Vancouver this January. There's plenty of experience in the squad with, as you'd expect, a little bit of youth and experimentation mixed in:
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
GK- Stephanie Labbé | SWE / Piteå IF
GK- Karina LeBlanc | Unattached / sans club
GK- Erin McLeod | SWE / Dalsjöfors G.o.I.F.
CB- Candace Chapman | USA / Western New York Flash
CB- Emily Zurrer | SWE / Dalsjöfors G.o.I.F.
FB- Melanie Booth | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC
FB- Robyn Gayle | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC
FB- Marie-Eve Nault | CAN / Ottawa Fury
FB- Lauren Sesselmann | USA / Atlanta Beat
FB- Rhian Wilkinson | NOR / Lillestrøm SK Kvinner
M- Laura Chénard | CAN / Amiral de Québec
M- Christina Julien | CAN / Ottawa Fury
M- Kaylyn Kyle | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC
M- Carmelina Moscato | SWE / Piteå IF
M- Alyscha Mottershead | USA / Syracuse University
M- Kelly Parker | USA / Atlanta Beat
M- Tina Romagnuolo | USA / Syracuse University
M- Sophie Schmidt | Unattached / sans club
M- Desiree Scott | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC
F- Christine Sinclair | USA / Western New York Flash
F- Melissa Tancredi | SWE / Piteå IF
Herdman told It's Called Football last week that his tactical approach included getting the fullbacks involved with the play -- and it shows. Newcomer Lauren Sesselmann earned her spot on the Canadian squad with a strong performance at the Pan Ams, but it will be interesting to see how she fits into the mix alongside four other fullbacks with a combined 260 Canadian caps between them.
Another Pan Am standout, Christina "Corky" Julien, is back with the squad and -- despite being listed as a midfielder -- will surely be working alongside the veteran duo of Sinclair and Tancredi on the striking side of things.
Mottershead, 20, is getting her first crack with the senior team, though 21-year-old Romagnuolo has but a single senior cap to her name, while Chénard's next appearance for Big Red will be her fourth. The CSA made the effort to note that all three are arriving from universities, and on Thursday, a CSA official noted that "there will be a couple of additions" to the roster in the coming days, based on developments with NCAA and CIS teams.
An astute reader noted the conspicuous absence of Canadian stalwart Diana Matheson. The CSA has yet to respond to a request for clarification on why she's not included in the squad. Any new information received will be posted in this space.
For the most part, what you're looking at is the core squad that will take Canada into those Olympic qualifiers. While the Pan Ams were indisputably a big emotional and psychological boost for the program, the real work begins this weekend. It's now that we'll begin to find out just what the Herdman Era could hold for the Canadian team.