So, lost somewhat in the hubbub of the women's national team playing the much-hyped (and ultimately disappointing) "rematch" against the #1 team in the world is the fact that they've also got a showdown with the #2 team in the world later this month.
As has been his habit so far in 2013, head coach John Herdman continues tinkering with his lineup. Once again he'll be taking a look at a few new faces, while keeping the core of the team largely intact. While he's spoken of a development gap that will need addressing in the years ahead -- and the only way to close that gap is to see what young players have got -- he's also cognizant of the reality that running out a team full of newbies to be slaughtered by top competition isn't especially productive either.
With that in mind, here's the 18-woman roster who'll head into Germany for the friendly on Wednesday, June 19 (9 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. ET kickoff on Sportsnet One):
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
GK- Stephanie Labbé | SWE / KIF Örebro DFF
GK- Erin McLeod | USA / Chicago Red Stars
D- Kadeisha Buchanan | CAN / Toronto Lady Lynx
D- Robyn Gayle | USA / Washington Spirit
D- Rachel Melhado | USA / University of Louisville
D- Carmelina Moscato | USA / Chicago Red Stars
D- Desiree Scott | USA / FC Kansas City
D- Lauren Sesselmann | USA / FC Kansas City
D- Chelsea Stewart | USA / UCLA
D- Rhian Wilkinson | USA / Boston Breakers
D- Emily Zurrer | USA / Seattle Reign FC
M- Kaylyn Kyle | USA / Seattle Reign FC
M- Diana Matheson | USA / Washington Spirit
M- Sophie Schmidt | USA / Sky Blue FC
M- Danica Wu | CAN / Comètes de Laval
F- Mélissa Busque | USA / Seattle University
F- Adriana Leon | USA / Boston Breakers
F- Christine Sinclair | USA / Portland Thorns FC
Despite still being too young to buy a bottle of beer, Kadeisha Buchanan has remarkably already become a fixture on the Canadian backline, so to count her among the "newbies" would be a bit inaccurate. Likewise with Stephanie Labbe, who's seen sporadic duty with the national team in the last five years (and was believed by some to have retired from international play altogether) but at age 26 (relatively young for a goalkeeper) could still be a part of the picture in the years ahead.
Rachel Melhado, 19, is getting her first crack with the senior national team, after featuring for the Canadian side at last year's U20 Women's World Cup. She's an automatic starter on defence for the University of Louisville and has been in the Canadian setup for three years.
Melissa Busque, 23, is also getting a first look with the senior national team, though she's been on the Canadian radar for the better part of a decade. She's currently with the Seattle Sounders women's team in the USL W-League (if their website is to be believed), after scoring four goals at Seattle University and 10 goals over the course of three seasons at the University of Connecticut.
Danica Wu earned her first senior national team cap as a late sub in the friendly against the USA earlier this month, but hardly had enough time to make an assertive impact on the game. The 20-year-old did feature regularly for the U20 team last year and showed herself to be an industrious midfield player -- if a comparison to a current national-teamer was needed, maybe Diana Matheson?
Adriana Leon was a somewhat-surprising exclusion from the roster that faced the USA, but she's right back in the mix. A tough striker with a, shall we say, minimalist goal celebration, Leon scored thrice for Canada at last year's U20 Women's World Cup (a hat trick in a romp over Argentina) and tallied her first cap (and first goal) with the senior team earlier this year at the Yongchuan Cup in China.
Speaking of the U20s.... a group of 22 prospective Canadian youngsters are currently assembled in Vancouver for a week-long camp, to give head coach Andrew Olivieri (who also does scouting for the senior national team) an idea of the player pool. Those attendees are:
GK- Maryse Bard-Martel | CAN / FC Boisbriand
GK- Taylor Bucklin | USA / CFC United
GK- Kailen Sheridan | CAN / Toronto Lady Lynx
CB- Jade Kovacevic | CAN / Toronto Lady Lynx
CB- Rebecca Pongetti | CAN / Toronto Lady Lynx
CB- Rebecca Quinn | CAN / Toronto Lady Lynx
FB- Lindsay Agnew | USA / Ohio Premier Eagles
FB- Julia Liguori | CAN / Lakeshore
FB- Aman Shergill | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite
D- Ashley Campbell | CAN / Toronto Lady Lynx
M- Emma Fletcher | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite
M- Nicole Loncar | CAN / Toronto Lady Lynx
M- Kinley McNicoll | CAN / Ottawa Fury SC
M- Ashley Moreira | CAN / Glen Shields
M- Carla Portillo | CAN / Burlington Bayhawks
M- Sabrina Santarossa | CAN / CS Vallée Richelieu
F- Kylie Davis | CAN / Comètes de Laval
F- Jasmin Dhanda |
F- Chelsea Harkins | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite
F- Katie Kraeutner | CAN / Victoria Highlanders FC
F- Amandine Pierre-Louis | CAN / Comètes de Laval
F- Valérie Sanderson | CAN / Comètes de Laval
The CSA was quick to point out that Kadeisha Buchanan, Ashley Lawrence and Nichelle Prince are absent from this camp (they're all no-doubters to make Canada's roster at next year's U20 Women's World Cup)... probably because Olivieri already knows very well what he's got in the three of them.
One notable exception that raised a few questions was Summer Clarke. The younger sister of the Vancouver Whitecaps' Caleb Clarke, Summer scored six goals for Canada in the qualifying tournament for last year's U17 Women's World Cup, and added one more goal in the tournament itself.
When I asked the CSA about her absence, the only information they were willing to publicly share was: "Summer Clarke declined to attend the camp due to personal reasons."
While there is still time for these players to develop, the reality is that Canada's finishing at that U17 tournament was, at times, painful to watch. Here's hoping it was an anomaly, and that Olivieri can find the right combination or the right approach to pull some more clinical goal-scoring out of the young players at his disposal -- and that a player like Clarke (who's shown she can score) can find her way back into the mix.
Because as we all know, Christine Sinclair ain't getting any younger (oh, and happy birthday, Sincy!).
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