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Women's World Cup Team

Wednesday, February 18, 2004

Pellerud Selects 20-Players For Olympic Qualifications

Ottawa, Ontario – Canadian Women’s World Cup Team head coach Even Pellerud has announced his 20-player roster for the upcoming CONCACAF Olympic Qualifications in San Jose, Costa Rica from February 25 - March 5, 2004. The Canadian team travelled on Tuesday, February 17 to begin final preparations for next week’s qualifications.

Canada will compete in Group A with Costa Rica, Jamaica, and Panama and will begin against Jamaica on Thursday, February 26th at 4:00 p.m. (local). Canada will then play Panama on Saturday, February 28th at 1:00 p.m. (local) before ending group play against Costa Rica on Monday, March 1st at 8:00 p.m. (local).

“The World Cup success in the fall of 2003 is by now a good, but remote memory,” said Pellerud. “Our goals are high and we desperately wish to win a spot in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. We expect host nation Costa Rica to become our strongest opponent in the first round as they had a competitive team at the 2002 Gold Cup, and have an emerging program.”

This is the first CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying tournament. The two finalists will gain berths at the Athens Olympics. Greece has an automatic spot as hosts while Sweden and Germany will represent UEFA based on their being the two highest finishing teams at the 2003 World Cup. Other Confederations will also hold qualifying tournaments. In 2000 and 1996, FIFA selected the top seven finishers from the previous World Cups along with the host country. The United States has been the sole CONCACAF representative in the last two Olympics.

The roster consists of 16-players selected from the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup in which Canada placed fourth; Tanya Dennis, Randee Hermus, Charmaine Hooper, Kara Lang, Christine Latham, Karina LeBlanc, Diana Matheson, Erin McLeod, Isabelle Morneau, Carmelina Moscato, Andrea Neil, Sharolta Nonen, Christine Sinclair, Taryn Swiatek, Brittany Timko, and Rhian Wilkinson.

New to Pellerud’s roster is Hamilton, Ontario native Melissa Tancredi; a defender named to the second team All-America squad in the 2003 NCAA season with the University of Notre Dame. This is her first call-up to the senior team. Others added who were not part of the 2003 Women’s World Cup roster are Aysha Jamani of Calgary, Alberta, Veronique Maranda of Saint-Lambert, Quebec, and Ottawa Fury/University of Tennessee midfielder/defender Marie-Eve Nault, of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec.

“We have a strong team selected for this event in Costa Rica, where the two semi-final winners will go to Athens. There are three new athletes in the roster since the Four Nations Tournament in China: Christine Latham and Kara Lang are both recovered from injuries, and newcomer Melissa Tancredi is a former striker now transformed into a top NCAA defender.”

“Beginning today, we will use the next week of practice to meld the team together before we kick-off on the 26th,” added Pellerud.

CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Schedule Athens 2004

Final Round Competition

Hosted In San Jose, Costa Rica February 25 - March 5, 2004

Group A: Canada, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Panama

Group B: Haiti, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, USA

Time (local) Game Team 1 Team 2 Venue

02.25.2004

13:00 W1 Mexico Haïti Nacional

15:00 W2 USA T&T Nacional

02.26.2004

18:00 W3 Canada Jamaica E.R. Cordero

20:00 W4 Costa Rica Panama E.R. Cordero

02.27.2004

18:00 W5 Mexico T&T E.R. Cordero

20:00 W6 Haïti USA E.R. Cordero

02.28.2004

13:00 W7 Panama Canada Nacional

15:00 W8 Costa Rica Jamaica Nacional

02.29.2004

13:00 W9 T&T Haïti Nacional

15:00 W10 USA Mexico Nacional

03.01.2004

18:00 W11 Jamaica Panama E.R. Cordero

20:00 W12 Costa Rica Canada E.R. Cordero

03.03.2004

12:00 WS1 Winner Group A Runner Up Group B Nacional

14:30 WS2 Winner Group B Runner Up Group A Nacional

03.05.2004

17:30 WC Loser WS1 Loser WS2 E.R. Cordero

20:00 WF Winner WS1 Winner WS2 E.R. Cordero

ROSTER

Name Pos. DOB Club/Affiliation Hometown/Province

Dennis, Tanya D 08/26/85 University of Nebraska Mississauga, ON

Hermus, Randee D 11/14/79 Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver, BC

Hooper, Charmaine F/D 01/15/68 Atlanta Beat Ottawa, ON

Jamani, Aysha F 06/28/87 Southwest United Calgary, AB

Lang, Kara F 10/22/86 Vancouver Whitecaps Mississauga, ON

Latham, Christine F 09/15/81 University of Nebraska Calgary, AB

LeBlanc, Karina GK 03/30/80 Boston Breakers Maple Ridge, BC

Maranda, Veronique MF 08/18/86 Selecte Rive-Sud Saint Lambert, QC

Matheson, Diana MF 06/04/84 Toronto Inferno Oakville, ON

McLeod, Erin GK 02/26/83 Vancouver Whitecaps Calgary, AB

Morneau, Isabelle D 04/18/76 Ottawa Fury Longueuil, QC

Moscato, Carmelina MF 02/05/84 Vancouver Whitecaps Mississauga, ON

Nault, Marie-Eve MF/D 02/16/82 University of Tennessee Trois-Rivieres, QC

Neil, Andrea MF 11/26/71 Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver, BC

Nonen, Sharolta D 12/30/77 Atlanta Beat Vancouver, BC

Sinclair, Christine F 12/06/83 Vancouver Whitecaps Burnaby, BC

Swiatek, Taryn GK 04/02/81 Ottawa Fury Calgary, AB

Tancredi, Melissa D 12/28/81 University of Notre Dame Hamilton, ON

Timko, Brittany MF 05/09/85 University of Nebraska Vancouver, BC

Wilkinson, Rhian MF/F 12/05/82 Ottawa Fury Baie D’Urfe, QC

STAFF

Newman, Adrian– Head of Delegation

Pellerud, Even – Head Coach

Bridge, Ian – Assistant Coach

Brodsgaard, Shel –Goalkeeper Coach

Sebrango, Kim – Manager

Campbell, Cathy – Team Doctor

Mair, Holly – Equipment Manager/Massage Therapist

Bay, Greg – Therapist

http://canadasoccer.com/eng/media/viewArtical.asp?Press_ID=1617

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Hooper leads Canadian women into Olympic qualifying soccer tournament

By NEIL DAVIDSON

TORONTO (CP) - Veteran Charmaine Hooper, looking to add to her 110 international caps, will lead Canada at the CONCACAF Olympic women's qualifying soccer tournament in Costa Rica later this month.

Coach Even Pellerud's 20-player roster announced Wednesday also includes forwards Christine Latham and Kara Lang, who both missed the recent Four Nations Tournament in China because of injury.

The eight-team qualifying tournament, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean, runs Feb. 25 through March 5.

Canada, ranked 11th in the world by FIFA, is in a pool with No. 46 Costa Rica, No. 63 Panama and No. 72 Jamaica. Group B features No. 2 U.S., No. 30 Mexico, No. 40 Trinidad and Tobago and No. 55 Haiti.

The top two teams from each of the pools advance, playing in crossover semifinals. The two finalists at the tournament advance to Athens.

The Canadians opens Feb. 26 against Jamaica.

Canada has never played Panama, but its record against the other Group A opponents is 6-0. Canadian women have outscored Costa Rica and Jamaica 36-0 in those games.

Not counting the U.S., Canada's all-time record against the other teams at the tournament is 22-0-0 with the goal count 104-5 in Canada's favour.

Canada's record against the U.S. is 3-27-3, although the rivalry has been more even in recent years. Since 2000, Canada is 3-7-3 against the powerful Americans.

"Our goals are high and we desperately wish to win a spot in the 2004 Olympics in Athens," Pellerud, who arrived in Costa Rica with his team Tuesday, said in a statement. "We expect host nation Costa Rica to become our strongest opponent in the first round as they had a competitive team at the 2002 Gold Cup, and have an emerging program."

The Canadian roster includes 16 members of the team that finished fourth at last year's World Cup.

The other four include uncapped Hamilton defender Melissa Tancredi, who was a second-team all-American last season at Notre Dame.

Others who were not part of the World Cup team are Calgary forward Aysha Jamani, attacking midfielder Veronique Maranda of Saint-Lambert, Que., and defender-midfielder Marie-Eve Nault of Trois-Rivieres, Que.

Jamani and Maranda both made their mark in China at the Four Nations Tournament.

Breanna Boyd and Candace Chapman are unavailable through injury.

This is the first CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament.

Greece has an automatic spot in the Olympic tournament as host while Sweden and Germany will represent UEFA based on their being the two highest finishing teams at the 2003 World Cup.

Other confederations will also hold qualifying tournaments.

In 2000 and 1996, FIFA selected the top seven finishers from the previous World Cups along with the host country. The U.S. has been the sole CONCACAF representative in the last two Olympics.

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Soccer/2004/02/18/352319-cp.html

[mtlfan]

What's at stake here is a once in a life time shot at the Olympics.

The real competition will take place within the team as only 18 spots (16+2keepers) are permited for Athens. Chapman and Boyd are still injured but may be available in the summer so 4 players will have to miss the games.

Perhaps this is why Pellerud has added more youth Maranda and Jamani and the rookies Tancredi and Nault and dropped Kiss, Harvey, and Andrews.

He can protect the team from a repeat of last year's injury disaters that had him doing last minute shopping at the Ottawa Fury and keep the core of the team together.

Although the team is getting younger it is gaining experience at the international scale and he should be able to move into the next phase of the developement of this team.

This will see a change in style evolve over the next four years from a strict direct play to a more in-direct play.

The training this week will be fierce as the winners of battle for the starting eleven will have the best chance of living their Olympic dream.