RHIAN SOCCER AND MEDIA REPORTS

 

CANADA TIES THE UNITED STATES   17th September 2011

Soccer Canada Reports, the Eleven and TSN)

 

Canada faced a familiar foe on Saturday 17 September when the WNT team faced the United States in a Women’s International Friendly match at the Livestrong stadium, in Kansas City, KS. The final result was a 1: 1 tie, but Canada laid to rest some of the disappointment they have felt since the FIFA World Cup.

 

 

As new coach John Herdman explained, this match "is a derby, so it is always a massive affair. This is a good place for this Canadian team to start. The players will have to roll up their sleeves to play the world’s number one team."
 

In preparing for the match, coach Herdman said 'The team has been wonderful. I have been impressed with the qualities and personalities of the players. They have responded very well."

 

    

 

Later, he explained, 'The team has been through a tough time, so part of what they wanted to achieve tonight was to put things right as a team. It wasn't just about winning football matches. It was something a bit deeper than the result. We knew from them stepping onto the pitch that they were going to step forward."

In the match, both sides scored a goal, both in the first half. Abby Wambach scored the opener on a penalty following some pressure down the right side which forced goalkeeper Erin McLeod to make a good save, The penalty was called on the second save by the sliding centre back Emily Zurrer. Unfortunately for Canada, the ball slid up Zurrer's body and hit her armpit, prompting referee Margaret Domka to make the call. Striker Wambach made no mistake with her kick into the left side of the net.

 

 

Melissa Tancredi scored the equalizer just over 30 minutes later. It was the 14th goal of her international career, and also her third this season with two of the goals against USA. The goal came in the 42nd minute on a through ball by Kelly Parker. With plenty of space to run, Parker played the through ball to Tancredi who had moved in behind the two American defenders. Tancredi made no mistake with her shot to beat Solo.

 

Canada  pressed the Americans at every chance. Both sides managed some shots on goal, but neither side maintained much possession before the other side got turned the ball over. In the second half, there were more long chances, but for Canada, goalkeeper Erin McLeod was always in the correct position. American substitute Alex Morgan may have been the closest to goal with a few chances inside the box. However, Canada's Lauren Sesselmann made a great defensive tackle to stop what could have been a good chance for Cheney inside the box.

 

Sesselmann also had the best chance of the second half in the 90th minute. Substitute Chelsea Stewart took a terrific pass and held it long enough to play Sesselmann clear and wide in the goal area. The rookie's shot, however, went high.

 

            

"We want to live up to this and push past this even further," said Chelsea Stewart, who will miss Thursday's match due to school demands. "So we go back to the drawing board and build on what we've already established as a team with the new coach."

 

Herdman has only been with the team a short time, but said he sees a bright future. "We have some wonderful players, great role models for young players in Canada, so we've got to keep putting them on the world stage," he said. "We have to bring this team back home so our public can see what special people we've got."

 

For this match, Canada's starting XI featured Erin McLeod in goal, Lauren Sesselmann at left back, Emily Zurrer and Carmelina Moscato at centre back, Rhian Wilkinson at right back, and Kaylyn Kyle, Diana Matheson, Christina Julien, Sophie Schmidt, Melissa Tancredi and Kelly Parker from the midfield up through to the attack.

In the second half, substitutions were made: Julien off for Stewart (68th minute), Kyle off for Scott (69'), Wilkinson off for Gayle (76'), Tancredi off for Booth (76'), Parker off for Sawicki (90').

Head coach John Herdman was on the Canadian bench for the first time.
Sophie Schmidt was selected Canada's player of the match for her hard work in the midfield. Forward Tancredi scored her 14th goal. In addition, Lauren Sesselmann and Jaclyn Sawicki earned their first international caps.

Attendance for this Canada-USA match was 16,191 fans. It was USA women's team first-ever match hosted in the state of Kansas