Canada’s Roster for USA Friendly Released

Ottawa, Ontario – Canada’s Women’s National Team head coach, Even Pellerud, today released his 15-woman roster for the upcoming International friendly against their CONCACAF rivals, USA, on July 30 at the SAS Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina.



This match will mark the 36th time (3 wins, 3 draws, 29 losses) Canada and the USA have met since their first encounter in 1986, easily the most of any Canadian opponent (China and Brazil are second with 13 matches each).



Canada (11th ranked), is currently riding a six-game unbeaten streak after defeating Sweden 4-2 on July 17. The team is looking to stretch the current four game winning record and continue to gain momentum towards the six-team Women’s Gold Cup™ in November.



Charmaine Hooper (Ottawa, ON) has been included on the roster. Hooper was the force to be reckoned with as she scored three of the four Canadian goals against Sweden lifting her record to a lofty 71 goals in 130 appearances. The other Canadian goal scorer in that match was Christine Sinclair (Burnaby, BC) who is also available for the USA clash. Sinclair has now tallied 56 goals in 77 matches.



“Our roster is spread thin at the moment. With an unreasonable number of injuries and with our U-20 candidates preparing for Russia, it has definitely proven to be a challenge to select a team for this single game against USA,” stated Pellerud. “In spite of that, it is a confident team heading to the United States.



“Our players are good adjusting to challenges of this nature and we will try to build on the great win against Sweden last week in Minnesota.



“Within the game, we realize that we still need to improve our defensive record, we are conceding too many goals and that topic needs to be an ongoing priority moving forward. The US is a big task as they field some of the best attacking players in this game and one of the greatest tasks these days is to keep target Abby Wambach off the scoring sheet.”



The match will be televised on ESPN 2 beginning at 1:00 PM ET.



Tickets for this game can still be purchased online at ussoccer.com, all Cary, NC area Ticketmaster outlets (including Hechts, FYE, and Publix Stores), and by phone at (919) 834-4000. Groups of 15 or more can purchase tickets by logging onto ussoccer.com or calling (312) 528-1290.



Canada vs. China



Following their date with the US, Pellerud’s squad will gather in St. John’s, NF for a two-game series against perennial Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifiers, China. The two matches will take place on August 19 and 22 at the King George V Stadium. The opening game (August 19) will kick-off at 16:00 (local time) and the second match (August 22) will kick-off at 17:30 (local time).



Tickets for these matches will be $20.00 for Adults and $15.00 for Youth. A pass for both matches of the two-game series can be purchased for $30.00 for Adults and $20.00 for Youth and can be obtained by calling the Newfoundland & Labrador Soccer Association (NLSA) at 709-576-0601. All tickets will be General Admission.



Immediately following the second China challenge, Canada will depart for Europe to play two friendlies against France on August 26 in Rouen, and August 29 in Dieppe.



Women’s Gold Cup™



The Women’s Gold Cup™ will crown the CONCACAF champion, and also qualify two nations to the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup in China. The third-place finisher from the CONCACAF event will face an Asian team in a home-and-away playoff for the final berth to the FIFA tournament.



Upcoming Match Information (all times are local)

July 30 – CANADA vs. USA – SAS Soccer Park, Cary, NC – 13:00

August 19 – CANADA vs. China – King George V Stadium, St. John’s, NF – 16:00

August 22 – CANADA vs. China – King George V Stadium, St. John’s, NF – 17:30

August 26 – CANADA vs. France – Rouen, France – 18:00

August 29 – CANADA vs. France – Dieppe, France – 19:00



Roster – CANADA