Ottawa, Ontario – Canadian Women’s World Cup Team Head Coach Even Pellerud has invited 22-players to attend the program’s first camp of 2005 from January 20th to 30th in Vancouver, BC. The roster includes a mix of youth and veteran players and consists of 10 players from the Under-19 Women’s World Championship pool. The camp’s focus will be on practices and scrimmages, while camps in the spring and summer will be more game related. “While our Under-19 team received major focus in 2004, it is now time to concentrate on a new cycle for the Women’s World Cup team leading up to the CONCACAF Qualifying tournament in 2006, and ultimately the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup in China,” stated Pellerud.
Ottawa, Ontario – L’entraîneur-chef Even Pellerud de l’équipe canadienne féminine de Coupe du monde a invité 22 joueuses pour le premier camp d’entraînement de l’année 2005, du 20 au 30 janvier à Vancouver, en Colombie-Britannique. L’alignement est un mélange de jeunes et de vétérans et compte 10 joueuses du bassin de joueuses de l’équipe nationale des moins de 19 ans. Les entraînements et les mêlées seront les points de concentration au cours de ce camp tandis que les camps du printemps et de l’été seront plus autour de matchs. « Si notre équipe des moins de 19 ans a reçu beaucoup d’attention en 2004, c’est maintenant l’heure de se pencher sur le nouveau cycle pour l’équipe féminine de Coupe du monde qui entreprend ses préparatifs pour le tournoi de qualification de la CONCACF en 2006 en vue d’une place à la Coupe du monde de 2007 en Chine, » a déclaré Pellerud.
OTTAWA, Ontario, January 14, 2005 – Rogers Sportsnet, on behalf of SOS Children’s Villages Canada and the Canadian Soccer Association (CSA), will be airing a PSA on Saturday, January 15, 2005 in request of donations for tsunami relief. The National Director of SOS Children’s Villages Canada, Boyd McBride states: “It is wonderful to see how organizations of all kinds have mobilized to respond to the desperate situation in South Asia. Rogers Sportsnet and the Canadian Soccer Association have generously provided an opportunity to inform Canadians of the scale of the disaster, and given them a way to help. The Canadian Soccer Association has been a great supporter of SOS Children’s Villages Canada for many years, but this initiative has taken that support to a new level.”
Ottawa, Ontario – Canadian Men’s National Team head coach Frank Yallop today named his 16-player roster for the upcoming training camp to be held in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida from January 13-22. Yallop has selected the majority of his players from the Canadian A-League teams with five players from the A-League champion Montreal Impact, four from the Vancouver Whitecaps and two from the Toronto Lynx. The Impact players include 2004 Olympic team players Adam Braz and Andrew Olivieri as well as defender Nevio Pizzolitto who was playing with San Diego of the MISL up until last week when the franchise folded. Sandro Grande, who appeared in four World Cup Qualifiers last year will attend the camp along with newcomer Patrick Leduc.
Canadian international Christine Sinclair of the University of Portland and senior midfielder Danny O’Rourke of Indiana University are the winners of the 2004 Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy, presented to the top female and male players in NCAA Division I soccer. The winners were decided by a vote of current National Soccer Coaches Association of America members at the NCAA Division I level. Sinclair (Burnaby, British Columbia) scored 22 goals, 11 assists and 10 game-winners during the 2004 season en route to winning college soccer’s top prize. She finished fourth nationally in total points and tied for third in goals. Sinclair was named West Coast Conference Player of the Year for the second time in her career and led the Pilots to the quarterfinals of the 2004 NCAA Tournament.
Ottawa, Ontario – The Canadian Soccer Association today announced it has reached an agreement with the Portuguese Football Federation for its men’s national team to play Portugal in an international friendly on March 26, 2005. The game will be played in Barcelos, which is located 45 minutes Northeast of Porto. “Obviously this is a tremendous opportunity for us and I am delighted to have this game,” said Canadian head coach Frank Yallop. “Portugal reached the European Championship Final and are not only one of the top teams in Europe but also the World. It will be a great experience for some of our young players.” The two countries have faced each other once before and that was on January 26, 1995 in a 1-1 draw at the SkyDome Cup. Following the friendly, the Portuguese will play Slovakia in a World Cup Qualifier on March 30.
Portland junior forward Christine Sinclair needs to make some more room in her trophy case as she has been named a finalist for both the 2004 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy. Sinclair, North Carolina sophomore Heather O’Reilly and Penn State junior Tiffeny Weimer are the three finalists for the highest individual honor in intercollegiate soccer. The finalists were determined in voting of Division I women’s soccer coaches who are members of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). Sinclair, the West Coast Conference Player of the Year, led the Pilots with 22 goals and 55 points. After redshirting last season to play with the Canadian National Team in the Women’s World Cup, she returned to collegiate play and earned WCC Player of the Week honors three times this season. A member of the Canadian National Team since 2000, she was the offensive MVP of the 2002 Women’s College Cup, scoring the overtime goal that gave Portland its first national title. She is a three-time NSCAA/adidas All-America. The trio will be invited to the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis on Friday, Jan. 7, 2005, for a news conference, where the winner of the coveted crystal soccer ball trophy will be revealed. A banquet at the Club that evening will feature the formal presentation of the award.
Ottawa, Ontario – The Canadian Soccer Association today announced it has reached an agreement with the Irish Football Association for its men’s national team to play Northern Ireland in an international friendly on February 9, 2005 in Belfast. “We are starting to put together our schedule for 2005 and I am pleased to have this game,” said Yallop. “It is on the international date and so the majority of the players will be available for selection and this will give me yet another indication of what they are capable of.” The last time the two teams met was on April 27, 1999 in Belfast. The game ended in a 1-1 draw with Marc Bircham scoring on his debut. The first and only other game between the two countries was in the Canada Cup in Edmonton on May 22, 1995 with Canada earning a 2-0 win on goals by Paul Peschisolido.
Impact defender Gabriel Gervais was named professional soccer player of the year at the annual awards gala hosted by the Fédération de soccer du Québec. Named team MVP and A-League Defender of the Year, Gervais won the top honour for 2004 ahead of finalists Sandro Grande and Patrice Bernier.
Gervais was one of a number of award winners on the night. Amy Walsh was named senior female player of excellence.