Canada was the runner up at the 2012 Cyprus Women's Cup, falling 2-0 to France. Redemption wasn't in the cards for Canada on March 6 at GSZ Stadium in Larnaka as they took on the team that served them an embarrassing 4-0 loss and an early exit from the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.
Marie-Laure Delie got France on the board in the 31st minute after Gaëtane Thiney pounced on the ball as Desiree Scott settled it in Canada's defensive end. Delie cruised into the box and unleashed a beauty of a strike that rose above Erin McLeod.
France was later awarded a penalty kick the 62nd minute when Rhian Wilkinson was whistled for clipping Sonia Bompastor on a sliding tackle. Louisa Necib, who has garnered praises as the female Zinedine Zidane for her style of play and Algerian background, converted the penalty by sending McLeod the wrong way and placing the shot up the middle.
Most of the action throughout the game was dominated by the French. Elise Bussaglia and Eugénie Le Sommer had their chances, but one had a mis-kick while the other was denied by an outstretched McLeod in the 19th and 30th minutes respectively.
Not long after going down 2 goals, Canada appealed for a penalty of their own when Sophie Schmidt and a French defender collided at the edge of the box.
Necib's 69th minute breakaway almost added to the tally, but her shot sailed wide.
No doubt a rising force in the women's game, France, the fourth place team from the 2011 WWC, limited Canada's scoring opportunities. It wasn't until the 78th minute of the match that Big Red recorded its first official shot on goal. Twenty-two year-old Chelsea Buckland settled a cross from Christine Sinclair and turned to take a shot, but it was directed right into French goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi.
In added time, late Canadian heroics just weren't meant to be as Sinclair's shot was easily saved by Bouhaddi.
The match up between the two teams was set up after both topped their respective groups. Canada got the better of Scotland 5-1, Italy 2-1 and the Netherlands 1-0 in Group B, while France posted wins against Switzerland 3-0, Finland 2-1 and England 3-0 in Group A.
Canada and France have now played 8 official matches with an even record of 3 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses.
The championship final also marked the 75th national team appearances for Melissa Tancredi. Since making her debut on the CanWNT in 2004 at the age of 22, the Ancaster, Ontario native has scored 17 goals in 9 seasons. Tancredi is also the second leading scorer currently in the senior women's player pool.
Canada has reached the championship match of every edition of the Cyprus Cup since the tournament's inception in 2008, claiming the title in 2008, 2010 and 2011, and second place in 2009 and 2012.
Starting XI:
Canada: Erin McLeod; Rhian Wilkinson, Candace Chapman, Carmelina Moscato, Lauren Sesselmann (Chelsea Stewart, 60;); Kaylyn Kyle (Brittany Timko, 87'), Desiree Scott, Sophie Schmidt, Christine Sinclair; Christina Julien (Kelly Parker, 46'), Melissa Tancredi (Chelsea Buckland, 73').
France: Sarah Bouhaddi; Corine Franco, Ophélie Meilleroux, Wendie Renard, Sonia Bompastor; Eugénie Le Sommer (Laura Georges, 91'), Camille Abily, Elise Bussaglia, Gaëtane Thiney (Laure Boulleau, 84'), Louisa Necib and Marie-Laure Delie (Elodie Thomis, 75').
To round up the Cyprus Women's Cup, Italy defeated England 3-1 to secure third place. South Korea claimed fifth place on 8-7 PKs against Finland following a 1-1 tie in regulation. Penalties also decided the seventh place team as the Netherlands took it 4-2 (2-2 tie) at the expense of New Zealand. Scotland (2-0 win), South Africa, Switzerland (5-0 win) and Northern Ireland, in respective order, concluded the tournament
Canada's U-20 Women's National Team
In their quest to qualify for the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Japan, the Canadian U-20s defeated Mexico 1-0. Vanessa Legault-Cordisco, who's been called up to the senior squad, scored the lone goal in the 28th minute.
Having also beaten Haiti (5-0) and Jamaica (2-0), Canada clinched the top spot in Group A and will face Panama in the semi-finals March 9. USA, the top seed of Group B, will play Mexico.
The top 3 teams from the tournament will advance to the U-20 WWC Cup final.
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