Three players from the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite program, a Canada Soccer National Development Centre (NDC), have been named to Canada's squad for the upcoming 2022 Concacaf Girls’ Under-15 Championship that will be played in Tampa, Florida from August 1-7.
Included in the team are goalkeeper Sierra Gallant, who moved from Halifax, Nova Scotia and the Whitecaps FC Atlantic Canada Development Centre, as well as local midfielder Emily Wong and forward Keira Martin. Also named to the roster are Calgary's Taegan and Keelyn Stewart who will join the Whitecaps FC Girls Elite program in the coming weeks.
The biennial competition represents the first international competition for this age group, with the 18 players on each squad all born 2007 or later. The Concacaf Girls’ Under-15 Championship provides an important development step towards future Concacaf and FIFA youth competitions at the U-17 and U-20 levels and more importantly a step towards competing at the international level for Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team at Concacaf, FIFA and Olympic tournaments.
From 31 Concacaf nations, Canada are in League A alongside seven other nations who will compete for a title on Sunday, August 7. In the group phase, Canada will face Jamaica on Monday, August 1 (09.00 local / 06.00 PT), Puerto Rico on Tuesday, August 2 (11.00 local / 08.00 PT), and USA on Thursday, August 4 (09.00 local / 06.00 PT). The top-two nations in Canada’s group will advance to semifinals on Friday, August 5 to face either Costa Rica, Haiti, Mexico or Wales.
Throughout the competition, fans will find extended coverage across Canada Soccer’s digital channels on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube featuring the hashtag #canw15.
From three previous editions of the Concacaf Girls’ Under-15 Championship, Canada have posted a record of 13 wins, two draws and two losses, finishing first in 2014, second in 2016 and then missing the semi-finals in 2018. From the 51 players that represented Canada at those three previous editions, 12 of those players have already had call ups to Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team including Olympic champions Julia Grosso (2014), Jordyn Huitema (2014 and 2016), and Jayde Riviere (2016).
Earlier this year, Canada finished in third place at the 2022 Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship and in third place at the Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Championship. Canada will compete in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Costa Rica 2022 in August and then the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2022 in October.
Concacaf Girls’ Under-15 Championship:
League A (seven highest ranked teams and guest team): Canada, Costa Rica, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Puerto Rico, USA, and Wales.
League B (next 12 best ranked teams): Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Bermuda, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago.
League C (lowest ranked teams): Anguilla, Aruba, Belize, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Turks and Caicos Islands, and US Virgin Islands.
CANADA A-Z
1- GK- Noelle Henning | CAN / NDC-CDN Ontario
2- FB- Sadie Brisbin | CAN / Sherwood Park Phoenix
3- F- Mya Angus | CAN / Ottawa South United SC
4- M- Emily Wong | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC / NDC-CDN British Columbia**
5- CB- Yasmine Décombe | CAN / NDC-CDN Québec
6- M- Juliette Perreault | CAN / NDC-CDN Québec
7- F- Nikolina Istocki | CAN / NDC-CDN Ontario
8- M- Taegan Stewart | CAN / Calgary Foothills SC
9- F- Annabelle Chukwu | CAN / Ottawa South United SC
10- M- Shaden Al-Asad | CAN / Calgary West SC
11- F- Sandrine Brault | CAN / AS Blainville
12- F- Isabelle Chukwu | CAN / Ottawa South United SC
13- M- Bianca Hanisch | CAN / NDC-CDN Ontario
14- F- Keira Martin | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC / NDC-CDN British Columbia
15- M- Marée-Anne van Doesburg | CAN / NDC-CDN Québec
16- M- Liana Tarasco | CAN / NDC-CDN Québec
17- M- Keelyn Stewart | CAN / Calgary Foothills SC
18- GK- Sierra Gallant | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC / NDC-CDN British Columbia
