Season in review: Canadian women capture 2022-23 titles ahead of FIFA World Cup

With FIFA World Cup just around the corner, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team Head Coach Bev Priestman is excited for the prospect of her players reaching new heights on the world’s biggest stage. Some of those key players are coming into the FIFA World Cup in high spirits following the 2022-23 season in Europe, with notably former Canada Soccer Players of the Year Kadeisha Buchanan and Jessie Fleming both capturing the FA Super League title on the last day of the season with Chelsea FC.

“I can’t wait to see what the players put out there and you always know they will find a new level, especially with this group when it really matters and that’s what I’m hoping for this summer,” said Priestman in early June.

From Priestman’s pre-FIFA World Cup training squad of 25 players, Canadians collected nine trophies from four different leagues between early March and early June. Buchanan and Fleming were together for both League and Cup titles in England while Cloé Lacasse won three of four titles in Portugal beginning with the Super Cup last August.

“This FIFA World Cup is going to be the biggest yet and I think Australia and New Zealand are going to do an incredible job,” said Priestman. “Everyone was saying to me there isn’t a given game in your group, but in many ways that’s an exciting opportunity because our players want to be tested and we want to push ourselves to new limits. I’m super excited.”

ENGLAND

There were a record seven Canadians that featured in England’s top league this past 2022-23 season won by Chelsea FC for the fourth time in a row. Since the last FIFA World Cup in 2019, the FA Women’s Super League has quickly established itself as one of the top leagues in the world as their clubs continue to draw in some of the biggest talents from around the globe. One of those 2022-23 additions was five-time UEFA Champions League winner Buchanan who joined Chelsea FC from Olympique Lyonnais in France.

This past season marked the third season in a row that Canadians featured in 60 or more FA Women’s Super League matches. Fleming featured in at least 20 league matches (out of 22) for the second season in a row while Buchanan led all Canadians with 1,269 league minutes. Canadian newcomers were Buchanan and Jayde Riviere with runners up Manchester United FC while both Fleming and Shelina Zadorsky made their career 50th league appearances.

Beyond league action, D’Angelo helped Arsenal FC win the League Cup in March while Buchanan and Fleming lifted the FA Cup with Chelsea FC at Wembley Stadium in May. For Fleming, who moved to England in 2020-21, it marked the third season in a row that she won both the FA Women’s Super League and the FA Cup.

Canadians in the FA Women’s Super League
1st Chelsea FC (Kadeisha Buchanan, Jessie Fleming) – qualified for UEFA Champions League group stage
2nd Manchester United FC (Jayde Riviere, x-Adriana Leon) – advanced to Champions League Qualifying second round
3rd Arsenal FC (Sabrina D’Angelo) – advanced to Champions League Qualifying first round
7th Liverpool FC (Rylee Foster)
9th Tottenham Hotspur FC (Shelina Zadorsky)
12th Reading FC (Deanne Rose) – relegated to the Championship
x- Leon is on loan to Portland Thorns FC in the NWSL
y- Foster, recovering from injury, did not feature during the 2022-23 season

FRANCE

There were a record 10 Canadians that featured in France’s top league this past 2022-23 season won by Olympique Lyonnais for the second season in a row (16th time in the past 17 seasons). Vanessa Gilles returned to the league, but this time suited up for the league winners Olympique Lyonnais who won both the league and the Coupe de France.

This past season marked the third season in a row that Canadians featured in 100 or more Division 1 league matches. Ashley Lawrence, who leaves the league runners up Paris Saint-Germain FC after seven seasons, featured in at least 20 league matches (out of 22) for the third time in her career. Marie Levasseur, who also featured in 20 matches, led all Canadians with 1,628 minutes while the Canadian débutants in the league were Yasmine Hall, Jenna Hellstrom, Sura Yekka, and teenager Sadie Sider-Echenberg. Before her departure, Lawrence made her 100th career Division 1 appearance in 2022-23.

Canadians in France’s Division 1
1st Olympique Lyonnais (Vanessa Gilles) – qualified for UEFA Champions League group stage
2nd Paris Saint-Germain FC (Ashley Lawrence) – advanced to Champions League Qualifying second round
4th Fleury FC (Marie Levasseur)
5th Montpellier HSC (x-Gabrielle Lambert)
8th Le Havre (Sadie Sider-Echenberg, Sura Yekka)
10th Dijon FCO (Emily Burns, y-Jenna Hellstrom)
11th Rodez AF (Yasmine Hall, Alex Lamontagne, Amandine Pierre-Louis) – relegated to Division 2
x- goalkeeper Lambert did not see action before she transferred
y- Hellstrom retired from professional football in March

PORTUGAL

A trio of potential FIFA World Cup-bound Canadians spent the 2022-23 season in Portugal’s Campeonato Nacional Feminino including the league’s Player of the Year Cloé Lacasse. The Canadian striker helped SL Benfica win the Supertaça in August, the Taça da Liga in April, and the league championship at the end of the year.

Marie-Yasmine Alidou, who is also in the running for a spot on Canada’s FIFA World Cup team, helped FC Famalicão win the Taça de Portugal for the first time. Goalkeeper Lysianne Proulx, meanwhile, made her professional debut with seventh-place SCU Torreense.

Canadians in Portugal’s Campeonato Nacional
1st SL Benfica (Cloé Lacasse) – advanced to Champions League Qualifying first round
2nd Sporting CP (Chandra Davidson)
3rd SC Braga (Caroline Kehrer)
4th FC Famalicão (Marie-Yasmine Alidou)
5th SF Damaiense (Chandra Bednar, Melanie Forbes)
7th SCU Torreense (Samantha Chang, Lysianne Proulx)
9th Valadares Gaia FC (Julia Benati, Shana Flynn)

ITALY

Julia Grosso was again the lone Canadian in Italy’s Serie A and while she finished second in the league standings with Juventus FC, she won her second Coppa Italia in as many years since turning pro. After making nine appearances in half a season in 2021-22, she featured in 20 league matches in 2022-23 and scored her first three goals in league action.

Canadians in Serie A
2nd Juventus FC (Julia Grosso) – advanced to Champions League Qualifying first round

GERMANY

This past season marked the first time since 2018-19 that at least three Canadians featured in the Bundesliga, still considered one of the top women’s leagues in Europe. Jessica De Filippo notably made her professional debut in the top league and scored her first two professional goals on 26 March when the last-place FFC Turbine Potsdam came from behind to get their first victory of the season.

Canadians in the Bundesliga
6th SC Freiburg (Gabrielle Lambert)
12th FFC Turbine Potsdam (Paige Culver, Jessica De Filippo) –  – relegated to 2. Bundesliga

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

This was a rare season in which Canada’s Kadeisha Buchanan didn’t win a UEFA Champions League title, but to no surprise she was one of the last Canadians standing in this year’s competition. After winning five UEFA Champions League titles in six years with FCF Olympique Lyonnais, Buchanan helped her new club Chelsea FC reach the 2022-23 Semifinals before their elimination to the eventual winners FC Barcelona.

Buchanan and Jessie Fleming made it to the Semifinals on one side of the bracket with Chelsea FC while goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo and Arsenal FC made it to the Semifinals on the other side of the bracket. Arsenal FC were eliminated by VfL Wolfsburg across two legs.

In all, six Canadians featured in 2022-23 UEFA Champions League from the group phase through to the knockout phase. This past season marked the second season in a row that Canadians featured in 40 or more UEFA Champions League matches. Fleming led all Canadians with nine matches (group phase, Quarterfinals, Semifinals) while Buchanan led all Canadians with eight stars and 724 minutes played.

Canadians in 2022-23 UEFA Champions League
Semifinals – Arsenal FC (Sabrina D’Angelo^)
Semifinals – Chelsea FC (Kadeisha Buchanan and Jessie Fleming)
Quarterfinals – Olympique Lyonnais (Vanessa Gilles)
Quarterfinals – Paris Saint-Germain FC (Ashley Lawrence)
Group phase – SL Benfica (Cloé Lacasse)
Group phase – Juventus FC (Julia Grosso)
^Goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo joined Arsenal FC after the group phase, but did not feature in the knockout phase