Canadians set to make Canadian debut

Melissa Tancredi interviews Jodi-Ann Robinson



Jodi-Ann Robinson is just 20 years old, but she has already made 33 appearances for Canada’s national team. Should she enter the pitch this Monday 25 May for a 34th appearance, it will in fact be her first played in Canada.



Robinson is one of six players making their home debut with the national team. Christina Julien and Alyssa Lagonia are indeed rookies and have yet to play in Canada with the national team. Kaylyn Kyle, Marie-Eve Nault and Stephanie Labbé have also yet to play in Canada at the national level.



Forward Robinson is the most experienced of the group. She was just 15 years old when she first joined the national team in 2004; she was Canada’s second-youngest player ever when she made her first appearance one season later on 21 April 2005.



Robinson is a former Canadian U-20 Player of the Year, winning the award in 2006. Before that she was the Bc Soccer Youth Athlete of the Year in 2004. She has participated in two FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cups (Thailand 2004 and Russia 2006) and won two CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championships (2004 and 2008).



At the youth level, she scored 16 goals in 30 games. She tied Brittany Timko for second-most at that level, four back of all-time leader Christine Sinclair (20). Robinson has already scored six goals at the national level.



Robinson and Timko both rank second all-time in substitutions (27), six back of all-time leader Andrea Neil (33). In 2008, Timko set a national record by being called 16 times as a substitution in one season; Robinson was second after she was called 15 times as a substitution.



Should Robinson play Monday night at BMO Field, it will be her fifth appearance against USA’s top team. At the youth level, she played USA three times, including championship matches in 2004 and 2006.