Canada closes Youngchuan camp

Canada’s women’s national team closed out a week-long camp in Yongchuan District, Chonqxing, China PR. The camp wrapped up following an 0:2 loss to China PR on Saturday night at the city’s Olympic Sports Centre. The Saturday match was played in front of an energetic atmosphere that featured 23,000 fans.



“For a female international soccer game, it was very important to have a full stadium,” said Canadian national head coach Carolina Morace. “It was very important that both teams played soccer.”



Canada had a very young team in camp this past week. While there was a cast of veterans like Christine Sinclair, Kara Lang, Karina LeBlanc, Candace Chapman and Erin McLeod, there were also plenty of new faces like Cynthia Leblanc, Shannon Woeller, Laura Chénard, Vanessa Legault-Cordisco, Gina Pacheco, Alysha Bonnick and Brooke McCalla. Those last seven players entered the week with two or fewer international appearances.



In games like (the 0:2 loss), there is always an opportunity to learn, especially for the younger players,” said Canadian captain Christine Sinclair. “I think it would have been easy for them to shut down. At this level, though, every minute counts and every minute helps you get better before the (FIFA Women’s World Cup) qualification.”



Canada, whose title sponsor is Winners and presenting sponsor is Teck, trained in Chongqing from 18-24 April. The team had 21 players in camp. The team is preparing for the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup, which is expected to take place in October and November.