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Posted by
Melissa Tan,
November 27, 2014 |
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Melissa Tan
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The Canadian Women's National Team completed a pair of closed-door friendlies against Sweden with a 1-1 draw on Wednesday at UCLA.
After trailing by a goal for about 15 minutes, Christine Sinclair tied it up in the 73rd off a corner kick scramble.
Early chances for both sides were easily picked off by the goalkeepers. Canada had a series of attempts off target in the last 15 minutes of the first half, including Emily Zurrer's header and Ashley Lawrence's shot that went high. Josée Bélanger then missed wide.
Second half substitute Janine Beckie received her first senior cap for Canada. She was a standout at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup 2014 and earned Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year honours this month for her season with Texas Tech University. Beckie was a late addition to the camp in California, joining the team on Monday.
Early in the second half, Canada thought they had the go-ahead goal by Zurrer, but it was ruled offside.
Sweden's spell of possession resulted in a skied shot before Linda Sembrandt put the ball in the back of the net off a corner kick in the 57th minute.
Zurrer and Jonelle Filigno closed out the match with headed attempts.
Two days earlier, Canada defeated Sweden 1-0 at Loyola Marymount University in Santa Monica, California.
Match Highlights: Canada WNT 1-0 Sweden
Ten minutes in, Adriana Leon took a shot from distance that sailed over the crossbar, as did Carmelina Moscato's volley a few minutes later.
In the 28th minute, Sinclair had a cushioned header easily claimed by goalkeeper Carola Söberg.
The lone goal came on the verge of half-time when Swedish possession was broken up by Allysha Chapman. Sophie Schmidt crossed the ball to Filigno, who slotted in a low shot, marking her 11th goal for the senior national team.
CANWNT: Canada 1-0 Sweden, Jonelle Filigno
Sweden held much of the possession early in the second half, forcing Erin McLeod to come off her line multiple times, as well as in the 70th minute against substitute Maria Banusic.
Filigno had two more chances late in the match, both of which were blocked.
CANWNT: Canada 1-0 Sweden, John Herdman
The day also marked McLeod's 100th cap. She debuted for the senior national team in 2002 at the Algarve Cup against Wales.
McLeod told CanadaSoccerTV, “(Christine Sinclair) gave me the (captain’s) armband and I was already in tears... And then (Head Coach) John (Herdman) asked me to say a few things to the locker room and, fighting through my tears as I’m a sensitive emotional person, I just thanked everyone. I feel so grateful and I’m just so honoured that I get to play for these people every day.”
Prior to this series of friendlies, Canada and Sweden last played against each other at the group stage of the 2012 London Olympics. Canada fought back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the match with two goals by Melissa Tancredi.
Notes
The CanWNT appeared on the Rick Mercer Report as he trained with the team during their camp in BC - http://www.cbc.ca/player/Shows/ID/2615816786/.
The official FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015 draw will be taking place on Saturday, December 6 in Ottawa at the Canadian Museum of History. Kara Lang, an ambassador of the tournament, and Sinclair will be featured in the draw ceremonies.
The event will be streamed live at 12pm ET/9am PT on FIFA.com and the FIFA Youtube channel; and aired live in Canada on TSN1, TSN3 and TSN4.
Teams are readying to qualify for the last two spots in the 24-team tournament. Italy and Netherlands are facing off Thursday night in the second home-away leg to secure the final UEFA berth. The first match ended in a 1-1 draw with Italy holding a slight advantage having the away goal.
Trinidad and Tobago and Ecuador are set to compete for the final WWC berth on Tuesday, December 2. The first leg of the CONCACAF/CONMEBOL playoff ended in a 0-0 draw.
The WWC 2015 is running June 6 to July 5 in Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal and Moncton. Stadium Passports and Half Passes for multiple matches are now available through Ticketmaster.
After the December 6 draw, individuals will be able to select their seats when purchasing Passports and Half Passes. Phase 3 of sales will begin in early 2015 for individual tickets; Visa card holders will have access to an exclusive two week pre-sale period.
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