OTTAWA (CIS) – Canadian Interuniversity Sport announced Friday the student-athletes who will represent Canada in women’s soccer at the 2015 Summer Universiade in Gwangju, South Korea (July 3-14).
Gwangju 2015 website: www.gwangju2015.com
Team Canada website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/universiade/summer/2015/index
Comprised entirely of CIS standouts, the 22-player lineup – including two alternates – was put together following the final evaluation camp held in Toronto from May 4 to 9, where 24 athletes competed for a roster spot. Last fall, 45 players took part in identification camps in Quebec City and Victoria.
As announced in September, Peyvand Mossavat from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) will be at the helm of the red and white squad. He will be joined on the sidelines by assistant coaches Jose-Luis Valdes from McGill University and Laura Arduini of UOIT, with team leader Troye Flannery from the University of Calgary and athletic therapist Jacqueline Bell from the University of Waterloo rounding out the support staff.
“We are very excited with our team. We have selected a very enthusiastic and talented group of young ladies who are quite eager to put on a Canadian jersey,” said Mossavat, the reigning CIS women’s soccer coach of the year who himself competed for Canada at the 1993Universiade in Buffalo. “We have a few experienced players who have played at the U-20 level with the women’s national team, and also three veterans who played at FISU Games in Russia in 2013.
“Finding the right chemistry with this group in a short time period will be the challenge but I feel that the six days of camp brought the group closer together on and off the field. We are in a tough group with the USA, France and South Africa, but we feel that if we are committed to prepare ourselves individually over the next 40 days we can maximize our potential as a team and make CIS and Canada proud.”
Highlighting the Canadian roster are six members of the reigning CIS champion Laval Rouge et Or, including goalkeeper Marie-Joëlle Vandal, defender Mélissa Roy, midfielders Gabrielle Lapointe and Arielle Roy-Petitclerc, as well as strikers Joëlle Gosselin and Mélissande Guy.
Vandal and Roy both have previous international experience. The former played for the national under-20 team in 2014, while her Laval teammate, who was named CIS rookie of the year last fall, competed at the under-20 World Cup in Japan back in 2012.
At the 2014 CIS championship in Quebec City, Gosselin was voted tournament MVP and was accompanied on the all-star team by Roy-Petitclerc, Vandal, Guy and Roy.
The Alberta Pandas and Sherbrooke Vert & Or are also well represented on the roster with five and three selections, respectively. One of the U of A players was picked as an alternate.
Western’s Tori Edgar will battle with Vandal for the starting keeper position in Gwangju, while the defensive corp is completed by Victoria Saccomani of Alberta, Kelsey Tikka of Laurier, Meaghan Ramsden of Ottawa and Amélie Tremblay of Sherbrooke.
Rounding out the group of midfielders are UOIT teammates Kylie Bordeleau and Katherine Koehler-Grassau, as well as Audrey Lagarde of Sherbrooke and Annalise Schellenberg of Alberta.
Finally, the other strikers hoping to put Canada on the scoreboard are Karolyne Blain of Cape Breton, Jessie Candlish of Alberta, Rebecca Green of McGill, Alberta alumna Heather Lund and Sherbrooke’s Marie-Ève Jacques, the 2013 CIS player of the year.
Alberta keeper Kelti Biggs and MacEwen defender Kayla Evans are the alternates.
The three returnees from the 2013 Universiade squad that placed 10th in Kazan, Russia, are Saccomani, Tikka and Lund. The latter used up her CIS eligibility with Alberta and is now enrolled in post-graduate studies at McGill.
The delegation is set to leave on June 21 for Japan, where the Canucks will complete their preparation before heading to Gwangju, including an exhibition game against the Japanese side.
In South Korea, Canada will battle in pool D in the group stage with South Africa, France and the United States. The gold-medal final of the 16-team competition is set for July 12.
Canada’s best result at the Universiade is a trio of fifth-place finishes in 2011 (Shenzhen, China), 2005 (Izmir, Turkey) and at the Buffalo Games in 1993, when women’s soccer was a demonstration sport and the tournament was played in Hamilton.
Two years ago in Russia, the Red and White missed the medal round after going 1-2-0 in the preliminaries, including a 4-0 win over China, a 3-2 loss to eventual silver medallist Mexico and a 1-0 setback against Ireland. In consolation action, Canada defeated China 2-1 and Estonia 3-0, before dropping a 2-1 decision to host Russia in the ninth-place game.
TEAM CANADA ROSTER
Position Name University Hometown
Goalkeeper Tori Edgar Western Oakville, Ont.
Goalkeeper Marie-Joëlle Vandal Laval Longueuil, Que.
Defender Meaghan Ramsden Ottawa Ottawa, Ont.
Defender Mélissa Roy Laval Lévis, Que.
Defender Victoria Saccomani Alberta Edmonton, Alta.
Defender Kelsey Tikka Laurier Thunder Bay, Ont.
Defender Amélie Tremblay Sherbrooke Montreal, Que.
Midfielder Kylie Bordeleau UOIT Cambridge, Ont.
Midfielder Katherine Koehler-Grassau UOIT Ottawa, Ont.
Midfielder Audrey Lagarde Sherbrooke Laval, Que.
Midfielder Gabrielle Lapointe Laval Montmagny, Que.
Midfielder Arielle Roy-Petitclerc Laval St-Nicolas, Que.
Midfielder Annalise Schellenberg Alberta Edmonton, Alta.
Striker Karolyne Blain Cape Breton Sudbury, Ont.
Striker Jessie Candlish Alberta Edmonton, Alta.
Striker Joëlle Gosselin Laval Quebec City, Que.
Striker Rebecca Green McGill Green’s Harbour, Nfld.
Striker Mélissande Guy Laval Quebec City, Que.
Striker Marie-Ève Jacques Sherbrooke Sherbrooke, Que.
Striker Heather Lund Alberta Red Deer, Alb.
ALTERNATES
Position Name University Hometown
Goalkeeper Kelti Biggs Alberta Spruce Grove, Alta.
Defender Kayla Evans MacEwan Sherwood Park, Alta.
STAFF
Position Name University Hometown
Head Coach Peyvand Mossavat UOIT Toronto, Ont.
Assistant Coach Laura Arduini UOIT Mississauga, Ont.
Assistant Coach Jose-Luis Valdes McGill Montreal, Que.
Manager Troye Flannery Calgary Vancouver, B.C.
Athletic Therapist Jacqueline Bell Waterloo Cambridge, Ont.
2015 UNIVERSIADE WOMEN’S SOCCER DRAW:
Pool A: South Korea, Ireland, Italy, Czech Republic
Pool B: Mexico, Japan, Russia, Colombia
Pool C: Brazil, China, Poland, North Korea
Pool D: South Africa, France, CANADA, USA
CANADA’S ALL-TIME UNIVERSIADE RESULTS IN WOMEN’S SOCCER:
2013 (Kazan, Russia): 10th / 12 teams
2011 (Shenzhen, China): 5th / 12
2009 (Belgrade, Serbia): 7th / 16
2007 (Bangkok, Thailand): 10th / 16
2005 (Izmir, Turkey): 5th / 12
2003 (Daegu, South Korea): 10th / 12
2001 (Beijing, China): 11th / 12
1993 (Buffalo, USA): 5th / 6