The Canadian Soccer Association announced on Friday that three Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite players have been named to an upcoming U-17 women's national team camp ahead in advance of the CONCACAF Women’s U-17 Championship, set to take place at the end of October in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Included among the 23 players are defenders Rachel Jones and Simmrin Dhaliwal, and midfielder Jenna Baxter. All three players took part in the previous Women's Excel camp in September. Prior to joining the Girls Elite program, all three players developed through the BC Soccer Provincial Development Program and the National Training Centre and played in the EA SPORTS BC Soccer Premier League. Baxter most recently joined the program from Surrey United SC, while Jones and Dhaliwal enter their second seasons with Whitecaps FC after coming from Mountain United.
Of the initial roster, 20 players will be brought to Jamaica for the tournament that gets underway on Halloween night (October 31) against Guatemala. All 23-players have been involved with Canada’s Women’s Excel Program (U-14/U-17) under director and U-17 head coach Bev Priestman.
“In this short window players have really stepped up and grown by getting out of their comfort zone,” said Priestman, of the squad she’s assembling. “This is something I and the women’s national team players we have had in our coaching environment have really stressed as part of their individual development.”
After their opening game against Guatemala, they’ll take on Trinidad and Tobago on November 2 before wrapping up group play with a highly anticipated tilt against the USA, who are the defending champions.
Only the top-two teams in the eight-team tournament will advance to next year’s FIFA U-17 World Cup, which will take place in Costa Rica.
Canada won the CONCACAF Women’s U-17 Championship in 2010. This year’s event will be the fourth edition of the tournament.
The final squad will be announced on 29 October.
CANADA
GK- Rylee Foster | CAN / Woodbridge SC
GK- Devon Kerr | CAN / Glen Shields FC
GK- Patricia Koutoulas | CAN / Brams United
D- Catherine Levasseur | CAN / Haute St-Charles
D- Easther Mayi Kith | CAN / Laser de Joliette
D- Mika Richards | CAN / Brams United SC
D- Rachel Jones | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite
D- Nadia Pestell | CAN / Brams United
D- Bianca St-Georges | CAN / Laser de Joliette
D- Simmrin Dhaliwal | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite
M- Jenna Baxter | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite
M- Jessie Fleming | CAN / London NorWest SC
M- Sarah Kinzner | CAN / Calgary Foothills
M- Avery Lakeman | CAN / Edmonton Drillers
M- Karima Lemire | CAN / Varennes
M- Sarah Stratigakis | CAN / Woodbridge SC
F- Emily Borgmann | CAN / Burlington SC
F- Gabrielle Carle | CAN / Chaudière-Est
F- Nadya Gill | CAN / Vaughan SC
F- Anyssa Ibrahim | CAN / Terrebonne
F- Marie Levasseur | CAN / Haute St-Charles
F- Jessica Lisi | CAN / Woodbridge SC
F- Marie-Mychèle Métivier | CAN / Armada Chaudière-Est
