Alistair Johnston and Nichelle Prince have been named Canada Soccer’s Players of the Month for the September 2021

Alistair Johnston and Nichelle Prince have been named Canada Soccer’s Players of the Month for the September 2021. Johnston from Aurora, Ontario earned Player of the Match honours as Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team opened the Concacaf Final Round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers while Prince from Ajax, Ontario helped her professional club Houston Dash move into a tie for the last spot in the NWSL playoff race.
 
Johnston was one of three Canadians that played every minute of Canada’s three matches in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in September, earning back-to-back draws against Honduras and USA before a 3:0 win over El Salvador. Johnston was Canada’s Player of the Match in the opening match in Toronto against Honduras, his first international “A” match played at home in Canada.  In MLS action, Johnston scored his first professional goal on 23 September while Nashville SC maintained second place in the MLS Eastern Conference standings.
 
After Johnston’s Player of the Match performance in the opening match against Honduras, Samuel Adekugbe was Canada’s Player of the Match in the 1:1 away draw against USA while Richie Laryea was Canada’s Player of the Match in the 3:0 win over El Salvador. Canada’s goalscorers across the three matches were Tajon Buchanan, Jonathan David, Atiba Hutchinson, and Cyle Larin (two). Alphonso Davies set a Men’s National Team record for assists in an international season (six) while John Herdman set the Men’s National Team’s all-time record for international “A” wins by a Head Coach (22).
 
Upcoming in October, Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team will face Mexico, Jamaica and Panama in their next three matches of the Concacaf Final Round of FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. Canada will play away in Mexico on Thursday 7 October, away in Jamaica on Sunday 10 October, and then back home in Toronto on Wednesday 13 October.
 
In the National Women’s Soccer League in September, Prince played nearly every minute in four league matches as the Houston Dash moved into a tie with the Washington Spirit for sixth place in the race for the last NWSL playoff spot. She got an assist and scored a goal in Houston’s 4:0 league win over Racing Louisville and also scored in an international friendly match against Mexican side Tigres UANL.
 
Prince was one of several Canadians who scored at the professional level in September, with notably Jessie Fleming scoring her first professional goal in the FA Women’s Super League with Chelsea FC. In UEFA Women’s Champions League Qualifying, meanwhile, Cloé Lacasse became just the fourth Canadian to score a hat trick in the competition when she scored three times in a 4:0 home win over Twente. The win qualified Benfica to the last 16 clubs that will compete in the group phase.
 
Upcoming in October, seven Canadians on five teams will participate in the group phase of 2021-22 UEFA Women’s Champions League: Fleming with Chelsea FC in Group A; Alyssa Lagonia as captain of Servette FC Chênois in Group A; Jordyn Huitema, Stephanie Labbé and Ashley Lawrence with Paris St-Germain FC in Group B; Kadeisha Buchanan with FCF Olympique Lyonnais in Group D; and Cloé Lacasse with SL Benfica in Group D.
 
At the end of the month, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team will kick off their Celebration Tour with a pair of international matches against New Zealand, the first in the nation’s capital Ottawa on Saturday 23 October and the second match on Tuesday 26 October. The matches will celebrate Canada winning a Gold Medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
 
Alongside National Teams matches, Canada Soccer’s Canadian Championship Semi-Final matches will feature Forge FC Hamilton v CF Montréal on 27 October and Toronto FC v Pacific FC on 3 November. Forge FC will also participate in the Concacaf League Quarter-Finals on 20 October and 2 November against Santos de Guápiles of Costa Rica. All of Canada Soccer’s National Teams and Canadian Championship  matches as well as Concacaf League knock-out matches will be broadcast live on OneSoccer including TELUS channel 980 and onesoccer.ca.
 
Fans will find extended coverage across Canada Soccer’s digital channels on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube featuring the hashtags #CANMNT and #CANWNT.
 
 
PLAYERS of the MONTH:
September 2021 – Alistair Johnston and Nichelle Prince
August 2021 – Tajon Buchanan and Stephanie Labbé
July 2021 – Tajon Buchanan and Vanessa Gilles
June 2021 – Alphonso Davies and Ashley Lawrence
May 2021 – Jonathan David and Christine Sinclair
April 2021 – Jonathan David and Evelyn Viens
March 2021 – Jessie Fleming and Cyle Larin
February 2021 – Alphonso Davies and Shelina Zadorsky
January 2021 – Cyle Larin and Ashley Lawrence