Canadian Soccer Archive

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Nakajima-Farran, Piette the only real surprises on Canada roster

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/17/2012

Issey Nakajima-Farran, with Canada back in 2010, PHOTO: CANADA SOCCER

Canadian men’s national team coach Stephen Hart had been stating over and over not to expect too many surprises when he unveiled the roster for a June 3 friendly against the United States and two World Cup qualifiers to follow.

So, we shouldn’t be surprised that we weren’t surprised. For the most part, it’s a squad very similar to what we saw through the first phase of World Cup qualifying, which saw Canada eliminate St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis and Puerto Rico.

Of the 22 men named to the roster, only two — teenager Samuel Piette and veteran Issey Nakajima-Farran, who plays in Australia — would be considered eyebrow-raisers.

Piette, at 17, was a major part of Canada’s team at last year’s U-17 World Cup and the recent U-23 squad that came within one game of securing a berth at the London Olympics. He is reportedly close to a deal with Fortuna Dusseldorf, who earlier this week secured its return to the Bundesliga.
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Deja vu: Whitecaps let TFC escape Vancouver with an advantage, again

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/17/2012

Joe Cannon: Point-blank save on Nick Soolsma

It is the nature of two-legged Cup ties that the first game is often forgotten. Quick. Think back to the first leg of the Chelsea-Barcelona Champions League semifinal. Doesn’t come back to you as quickly as that epic second leg, does it?

And when we think of the 2011 Voyageurs’ Cup final, we remember the second leg, not the first. The rainout and subsequent replay turned that second leg into a strangely epic affair, and Whitecaps fans still lament losing a second-half 1-0 lead because a downpour at BMO Field aborted the first attempt at playing the game.

Almost conveniently forgotten was the first leg, which the Whitecaps dominated in terms of possession and chances. But the ‘Caps squandered chance after chance and settled for a 1-1 draw, which set up TFC to take that home leg.

Fast forward to 2012: Again, the Whitecaps get a 1-1 draw at home. A 91st-minute wonder volley from Eric Hassli, which came just minutes after keeper Joe Cannon denied TFC striker Nick Soolsma a vital insurance goal on a point-blank chance, gave the draw a euphoric feel for Vancouver fans.
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Hassli’s thumping volley allows Whitecaps to draw level with TFC

By
Martin MacMahon
– 05/17/2012

Eric Hassli

It was another Eric Hassli special.

With the Vancouver Whitecaps down 1-0, the big Frenchman reached into his bag of magic tricks and pulled out one his finest efforts yet, hitting a powerful volley into the top right corner of Milos Kocic’s goal.

The wonder strike ensures it’s all squared up at one apiece going into next Wednesday’s second leg at BMO Field, after Ryan Johnson fired Toronto into the lead with a 66th minute header from a cross from Julian de Guzman.

“Alain [Rochat] gave me a great ball,” Hassli told reporters following the match. “I practiced yesterday. I killed some birds [with wayward shots] and today was pretty good – lucky too. It’s a good goal.”
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Richmond-based club asks for court injunction to stop BCSA-Whitecaps deal

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/15/2012

Colin Elmes

The B.C. Soccer Association is being sued.

Late last week, Sportstown B.C. Holdings and Total Soccer Systems Inc. filed their suit in the province’s Supreme Court which asks for an injunction that would prevent the provincial soccer body from continuing its partnership with the Vancouver Whitecaps.

All items reported in the statement of claim have yet to be proven in a court of law.

The TSS Academy, based in Richmond, is a for-proft academy that isn’t allowed to become a full BCSA member. And it is angered that the BCSA entered partnerships with the Whitecaps, which is a for-profit MLS team. The Academy believes that is an unfair barrier to its business. According to TSS, the issue is not the Whitecaps, it’s the BCSA.

Even though the case is a long way from being heard, in the meantime TSS and its lawyers are asking for “a temporary injunction prohibiting the Defendant (the BCSA) from receiving any funding from the Vancouver Whitecaps or from the Province of British Columbia” until the case has been resolved.
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Canadian women work on mixing up their attack as Vancouver camp continues

By
Martin MacMahon
– 05/15/2012

Coach John Herdman, left, passes on instruction to Melissa Tancredi, middle, and Christina Julien in Foxboro, Mass. ahead of a friendly against Brazil, last March. PHOTO: CANADA SOCCER

Two months to go until London 2012.

It’s the big tournament the Canadian Women’s National Team has been waiting for since the disappointment of last year’s World Cup, in which Big Red crashed out in the group stage with three straight losses to Germany, France and Nigeria.

The team is in the midst of a residency camp being held throughout Metro Vancouver, as head coach John Herdman prepares his charges for the biggest tournament under his tenure since taking over from Carolina Morace in September, 2011.

“It’s huge,” captain Christine Sinclair told The 11 after a training session at North Vancouver’s Kinsmen Stadium Monday evening. “It’s our camp preparing for the Olympics. It’s a unique opportunity for us to be in Vancouver together for two or three months. We’ve got a lot to work on and that’s giving us that chance.”
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Canada loses women’s CONCACAF U-17 final to the USA

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/13/2012

Canada surrendered only its second goal of the CONCACAF U-17 Women’s Championship, but it was enough to cost it the gold medal.

The United States got a goal from Amber Munerlyn in the first half and had very few scares as it beat Canada 1-0 in the CONCACAF final Saturday night in Guatemala.

Munerlyn chipped Canadian keeper Kallen Sheridan from inside the box after she made a run through the defensive line. It was the 26th goal the Americans had scored in the tournament (five games). For Canada, it was only the second time it had been scored on in the tournament.
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Canada books spot at the women’s U-17 World Cup

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/11/2012

Valerie Sanderson PHOTO: CANADA SOCCER

Canada will be represented at the U-17 Women’s World Cup in Azerbaijan.

The Canadian teams wrapped up the berth Thursday, as a goal from Valerie Sanderson was all that was needed to beat Mexico 1-0 in a semifinal of the CONCACAF of the U-17 Women’s Chamionship.

CONCACAF sends three teams to the World Cup; both finalists and the winner of the regional consolation game. So, that format made the semifinals de facto one-game World Cup qualifiers

Sanderson, who scored three goals against Guatemala in Canada’s final group stage game, pounced on a rebound off a shot from Summer Clarke early in the first half. That marker proved to be enough.
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Hart already dealing with injured players ahead of June WC qualifiers

By
Aman Dhanoa
– 05/10/2012

Simeon Jackson models the special-edition Canada jersey the team will wear for its June 3 centennial friendly against the U.S. So, Canada in blue, and the U.S. in red and white?

With the media room all neatly decorated at BMO Field the obvious focuses of Canadian Soccer Association’s Thursday press conference were its centennial celebrations and the unveiling of its limited-edition heritage kit.

But it didn’t take long for the media to dress down the event and ask the important questions about the men’s national team and its preparation for the World Cup qualifying campaign, which resumes in June.

The first challenge for national team coach Stephen Hart will be to select a provisional roster for a training camp to be held in Florida beginning on May 21. He has been impressed with a number of players, most notably Bundesliga 2. Star Olivier Occean, but he first has to rule out who is unavailable – either by choice or injury.

“There are some injury issues, unfortunately, and we will have a couple of players that cannot be part of the campaign,” said Hart. “Marcel de Jong is out and Jonathan Beaulieu-Bourgault is out and we’re waiting on some medical reports on two other players.”
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Whitecap Carlos Marquez named PDL’s Player of the Week

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/10/2012

Carlos Marquez

Richmond, B.C.’s Carlos Marquez has been named the PDL’s player of the week.

The league announced the honour on Thursday, nearly a week after Marquez set up Michael Boxall’s opening goal and then scored two of his own as the Whitecaps U-23 side beat the Kitsap Pumas 3-0 in their season opener.

Marquez, 18, joined the Whitecaps’ Residency program in 2010. In 2011, he made 13 appearances for the Whitecaps U-23 side in PDL action. But he is quickly rising up the ranks. He played for the Whitecaps’ senior reserve team against the Seattle Sounders’ Reserves on March 26.
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Le Toux, Whitecaps, beat down FC Edmonton’s brave resistance

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/10/2012

Vancouver's Floyd Franks, left, takes on FCE's Shaun Saiko, right.

For 75 minutes of Wednesday’s second leg of the club’s Amway Canadian Championship final against the Vancouver Whitecaps, things looked good for FC Edmonton to be Cinderella at the BC Place ball.

The Eddies had a 1-0 leading, halving the 2-0 deficit from the first leg at Commonwealth Stadium. The soccer gods looked to be smiling on them, as an early goal from Whitecap Michael Nanchoff was incorrectly ruled out for offside — as replays showed that the low cross from John Thorrington was played when Vancouver’s attackers were all in onside positions. And, the Eddies had created the bulk of the chances, getting the first-ever North American professional goal from Chilean Yashir Pinto, and forcing Caps keeper Brad Knighton to make a few excellent saves, including a point-blank chance from Michael Cox.

But, with the Eddies needing just one goal to improbably send the tie crashing towards extra time, FC Edmonton crashed itself.

It all came undone in the 75th minute, when substitute Sebastian Le Toux turned left back Fabian Vorbe inside out then stroked a low shot towards the middle of the goal that went right under keeper David Monsalve.

It was a deflating moment that sent a Div.-2 side crashing down — and the Whitecaps scored twice more against the shellshocked Eddies to take the game, 3-1, and the series, 5-1.
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