Canada Soccer announced on Thursday that Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite REX defender Emma Regan has been called up to the 20-player roster for the 2015 CONCACAF Women's Under-20 Championship. On the road to the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Papua New Guinea, Canada will participate in qualifying at the eight-team CONCACAF finals from December 3 to 13 in San Pedro Sula, HON.
Canada selection, headed by U-20 coach Daniel Worthington, features players born 1996 or later. Next year's FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Papua New Guinea 2016 runs November 13 to December 3 2016.
Canada's 20-player team will travel to San Pedro Sula on Monday, November 30 after a brief camp in Sunrise, Florida. Canada will play their three group matches at Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano during the competition, with matches scheduled on December 3 (Trinidad and Tobago, 3 p.m. PT), December 5 (Jamaica, 1 p.m. PT), and December 7 (Honduras, 5:30 p.m. PT).
From two four-nation groups, the top four will advance to the knockout round, with the semifinals on December 11 and the Match for 3rd place and Final Match on December 13. The top-three nations will qualify for the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Papua New Guinea.
As for Canada's selection, the 20 players have already benefited from more than 1,700 days in the Canadian national youth program, with Victoria Pickett and Sarah Kinzner amongst the most experienced players. Two players, Sarah Feola and Camilla Shymka, are making their program debut. As for experience with Canada's women's national team, Sura Yekka is the leader with 13 international appearances.
Canada are four-time CONCACAF women's youth champions, twice at the U-20 level and once each at the U-17 and U-15 levels. Canada have participated in six of seven FIFA U-20 Women's World Cups since the biennial tournament was initiated in 2002, including a sixth-place finish on home soil last year.
Between 2014 and 2015, Canada were the only nation in the world to finish top-8 in three FIFA women's competitions (sixth place at the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015, sixth place at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Canada 2014, and eighth place at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Costa Rica 2014).
CANADA (inc. position and current club)
1- GK- Rylee Foster | CAN / Woodbridge SC
2- FB- Sura Yekka | USA / University of Michigan
3- M- Ashley Moreira | USA / University of Pittsburgh
4- M- Martina Loncar | USA / Colgate University
5- FB- Sarah Feola | CAN / CS Lakeshore
6- F- Anyssa Ibrahim | CAN / AS Varrennes
7- F- Taylor Pryce | USA / University of Pittsburgh
8- FB- Emma Regan | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite REX
9- M- Sarah Stratigakis | CAN / Unionville Milliken SC
10- M- Sarah Kinzner | USA / University of Colorado at Boulder
11- M- Vital Kats | CAN / Scarborough GS United
12- FB- Victoria Pickett | USA / University of Wisconsin - Madison
13- FB- Marike Saint-Pierre-Mousset | CAN / CS Delta Laval
14- F- Camilla Shymka | CAN / Calgary South West United SA
15- CB- Bianca St-Georges | USA / West Virginia University
16- CB / M- Alexis Martel-Lamothe | CAN / Comètes de Laval
17- F- Shana Flynn | CAN / Unionville-Milliken SC
18- GK- Lysianne Proulx | CAN / AS Varennes
19- F- Alex Lamontagne-Maycock | USA / Syracuse University
20- FB- Mika Richards | USA / Harding University
