

Posted by

Emily Dulhanty ,

August 1, 2014 Email

Emily Dulhanty

On Twitter:

@emidul

With the under 20 Women’s World Cup just days away, RNO takes a closer look at Canada’s roster, in a two-part series. First are Canada’s goalkeepers and defenders:



Goalkeepers (3)



#- Name | Most Recent Team / Hometown / Birth year



1 - Kailen Sheridan | Clemson University / Whitby, ON, CAN / 1995

Kailen Sheridan is the oldest and most experienced of the three keepers on this squad, having played in all four of Canada’s games at the 2012 under 17 Women’s World Cup in Azerbaijan. The FIFA technical report recognized Sheridan as one of 4 standout Canadian players on that squad, noting she was “available for back passes, throws the ball out well” and had “good technique.”



Sheridan started all 19 games in goal for Clemson University last fall, her freshman season, and was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference All-Freshman team. Clemson did not qualify for the NCAA tournament.



18- Marie-Joëlle Vandal | Dynamo de Québec / Longeuil, QC, CAN / 1995

This summer’s under 20 World Cup will be Vandal’s first international tournament, after debuting in the Canadian youth program in early 2014. The 18-year-old was a part of the Quebec team who were beaten by British Columbia in the final of the women’s soccer tournament at the 2013 Canada Summer Games.



21- Rylee Foster | Woodbridge SC / Cambridge, ON, CAN / 1998

The youngest of Canada’s three keepers is Rylee Foster, who most recently represented Canada in March’s under 17 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica, helping Canada win a crucial group game against Ghana, before being knocked out of the tournament by Venezuela in the quarterfinals.



Defenders (8)



2- Sura Yekka | Brams United / Mississauga, ON, CAN / 1997

At just 16 years of age, Sura Yekka is already turning heads. She was voted 2013 Canadian under 17 female player of the year and now has nine senior national team caps after debuting for the team last October. Yekka played 90 minutes in all four of Canada’s games at the under 17 WWC last March.



Last fall, John Herdman praised Yekka, saying, “She epitomizes that modern fullback. She’s got this urge to get forward… When Sura comes in, she doesn’t play like a traditional fullback. She’ll cut inside onto her left foot and open the centre of the pitch up.”



3- Kinley McNicoll | University of Wisconsin / Oakville, ON, CAN / 1994

Kinley McNicoll will captain Canada for the tournament. Her previous youth World Cup experience includes the 2010 under 17 WWC in Trinidad and Tobago, where she played in two of Canada’s three games.



She has been a standout in her two years at Wisconsin, starting and playing in all 21 games in 2012 and 19 games in the 2013 season, and was the team’s leader in assists for both seasons. Wisconsin was eliminated in the first round of the 2012 NCAA tournament and failed to qualify in 2013.



4- Kylie Davis| Comètes de Laval / L’Ile-Bizard, QC, CAN / 1994

Kylie Davis is the only player on this roster that has previous World Cup experience at the under 20 level, as she played in two of Canada’s three games at the 2012 under 20 WWC in Japan. She also played in one of Canada's three games at the 2012 under 17 WWC.



Davis has already played three NCAA seasons at the University of Memphis, where her team qualified for the NCAA tournament in 2011, but has not qualified since. Last fall, Davis was named to the American Athletic Conference first team.



5- Kadeisha Buchanan | Ottawa Fury FC / Brampton, ON, CAN / 1995

Described by John Herdman as “the Sinclair of defenders” and someone who has “the chance to be the best player in the world in her position,” Kadeisha Buchanan will be one of Canada’s anchors on the backline. Buchanan made her senior team debut in 2013, and in just a year and a half, has 22 senior team caps. She was named 2013 Canadian under 20 female player of the year and has previous youth World Cup experience after playing 90 minutes in all of Canada’s four games at the under 17 WWC in 2012. Buchanan was identified by FIFA’s technical report as one of four standout players on that squad.



Buchanan started all 23 of West Virginia University’s games in her freshman season last fall. Although West Virginia did not qualify for the NCAA tournament, Buchanan was named Big 12 defender of the year.



6- Rebecca Quinn | Duke University / Toronto, ON, CAN / 1995

Rebecca Quinn is the last of three defenders on this roster, along with Yekka and Buchanan, to have already made her debut with Canada’s senior national team. She has five senior team caps, the first coming at last March’s Cyprus Cup. As for youth World Cup experience, Quinn has plenty of that as well, as she played 90 minutes in all four of Canada’s games at the 2012 under 17 WWC.



In her freshman season at Duke last fall, Quinn featured in only seven matches, due to numerous injuries. She came on as a substitute in Duke’s 3-0 loss to Virginia Tech in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.



12- Victoria Pickett | Glen Shields/ Barrie, ON, CAN / 1996

Victoria Pickett debuted in the Canadian youth system in 2012, and played in three of Canada’s CONCACAF women's under 17 tournament games that same year. She was on Canada’s roster for the 2012 under 17 WWC, but did not play. Most recently, Pickett was a member of team Ontario for the 2013 Canada Summer Games, who finished 3rd place behind champions British Columbia and runners up Quebec in the women’s soccer tournament.



13- Lindsay Agnew | Ohio State University / Dublin, OH, USA / 1995

Lindsay Agnew played 90 minutes in three of Canada’s four games at the 2012 under 17 WWC. In her freshman season at Ohio State, she played in nine games, starting six of them. Ohio State qualified for the NCAA tournament, but lost in the first round to Kentucky.



Although Agnew was born in Kingston, ON, her family moved from Canada to the United States in 2001 because her father, Gary Agnew, coached the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL from 2000 to 2006. Since then, he has been an assistant coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets, the St. Louis Blues, and is currently with the Pittsburg Penguins.



15- Jordane Carvery | Glen Shields / Richmond Hill, ON, CAN / 1996

Canada 2014 will be Jordane Carvery’s first World Cup experience. Carvery was a part of team Ontario at the 2013 Canada Summer Games. She will join fellow Canadians Summer Clarke and Emma Fletcher at Louisiana State University for her freshman season this fall.



All photos courtesy of Canada Soccer.



