September 2, 2010

Busy month for Canadian soccer

(Jason De Vos, CBC Sports) - September marks a busy month for Canadian soccer.

A hectic schedule for our national teams kicks off on Saturday, Sept. 4, as the men take on Peru in a friendly in Toronto. The team then travels to Montreal for another friendly on the Sept. 7, where they will take on Honduras at Stade Saputo.

On Sept. 6, our women's U-17 team kicks off its bid to bring home the World Cup in Trinidad, when it plays its first of three group games. Ghana will be the opponent, followed by the Republic of Ireland on the 9th and Brazil on the 13th. If the team finishes in the top two places in its group, it will move on to the quarter-final stage of the tournament.

Canada's senior women's team is currently in training camp in Italy, ahead of a friendly match with Germany on Sept. 15. The women are preparing for the CONCACAF Women's World Cup Qualifier in Cancun, Mexico, which will be held from Oct. 28 - Nov. 8. A place in the top two guarantees a place at the FIFA Women's World Cup 2011 in Germany, while a third-place finish ensures a playoff with the fifth-place team from Europe.  >>>

September 2, 2010

CSL Clubs Kickoff Youth Development Program

(CSL) - The Canadian Soccer League is continuing its work to link promising young players to professional soccer and those interested should contact the nearest CSL club for further information.

Most of the current CSL clubs already provide professional academy-style training for youth through related programs or affiliated youth clubs.

The CSL has recently established minimum standards for programs offered to youth by its member clubs to ensure a standardized approach to delivering the highest quality training in CSL communities. These standards will continue to evolve as the CSL works with the CSA and OSA to develop an elite training system that will best service athlete development, as well as national/provincial team programs.  >>>

September 2, 2010

Canada downs South Korea in U17 soccer

(CSA) - Canada’s women’s U-17 presented by BMO defeated Korea Republic 2:0 in its last international friendly before the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Trinidad and Tobago 2010. The young Canucks jumped out to an early advantage scoring just two minutes into the match. Canada completed the scoring with a second goal six minutes before half time.

“I thought it was a well organized, disciplined effort by our squad,” said head coach Bryan Rosenfeld. “The players stuck to the game plan very well. We capitalized on our opportunities in the first half and we were able to shut down the Koreans in the second half. Overall I am happy with the team but I know we can be better.“

Canada’s Ashley Lawrence scored the opening goal of the match in what was a terrific start by Canada. Haisha Cantave made a great diagonal run down the Korean right and drove strongly towards the goal. She managed to look up and played a perfect pass into the onrushing Lawrence who tapped in from three yards out.  >>>