

Posted by

Emily Dulhanty ,

August 3, 2014 Email

Emily Dulhanty

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The second part of RNO’s series takes a detailed look at the midfielders and forwards on Canada’s roster for the under 20 Women’s World Cup. There is a lot of attacking talent on this squad and it will needed if Canada is to advance beyond the quarterfinals of a youth Women’s World Cup for the first time since 2002.



Midfielders (6)



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



7- Ashley Campbell | CAN / Toronto Lady Lynx / Bradford, ON / 1994

Ashley Campbell debuted in the Canadian youth program at an EXCEL camp in the summer of 2013, and Canada 2014 will be Campbell’s first international tournament.



At Dayton University, Campbell has scored 30 goals in two seasons and most recently, she was named the Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year. Dayton did not qualify for the NCAA tournament in 2012 or 2013.



8- Jessie Fleming | CAN / London NorWest SC / London, ON / 1998

Jessie Fleming is as promising of a prospect as we have ever seen in Canadian soccer. After a great showing at the 2013 CONCACAF under 17 tournament last fall, Fleming received her first senior national team call up and now has four senior team caps.



Fleming captained Canada at last March’s 2014 under 17 WWC in Costa Rica and she played every minute in all four of Canada’s games. The FIFA technical report identified Fleming as one of four outstanding players on Canada’s squad, saying she had “good long-range shots” and “excellent technique” and describing her as an “impressive playmaker.”



Have a look at this brilliant free kick goal Fleming scored against Germany last March:







During Canada’s camp in Brazil last December, John Herdman had this to say about Fleming: “She’s certainly been a bright light in the environment, just her maturity on the pitch… She doesn’t look out of place at all. She’s a smart footballer. She’s a similar height to [Diana] Matheson, a similar stature but she’s got the same sort of quick feet and vision and awareness.”



10- Ashley Lawrence | CAN / Ottawa Fury FC / Caledon, ON / 1995

19-year-old Ashley Lawrence comes into Canada 2014 with a breadth of experience. She made her senior national team debut in January of 2013, and now has eight senior team caps. At the 2010 under 17 WWC in Trinidad and Tobago, Lawrence was the youngest player on the Canadian team, and made appearances as a substitute in two of Canada’s three games. Two years later, Lawrence captained Canada at the 2012 under 17 WWC in Azerbaijan, playing 90 minutes in all four games.



Lawrence was named Canadian under 17 female Player of the Year in both 2011 and 2012.



In her freshman season at West Virginia University, Lawrence played in all 23 of the team’s games, and was named to the 2013 All-Big 12 first team.



WVU coach Nikki Izzo-Brown had this to say about Lawrence: “I think Bryan [Rosenfeld] in the [under] 17 world cup maybe played her a little bit more holding, but it just depends on what you need from her, because she’s very good defensively but very lethal offensively.”



14- Vanessa Grégoire | CAN / Comètes de Laval / Pointe Claire, QC / 1996

This summer’s under 20 WWC will be Vanessa Grégoire’s first international tournament, after debuting in the Canadian program in March of 2013. She 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. Grégoire will attend Princeton University in the fall.



16- Sarah Kinzner | CAN / Calgary Foothills / Calgary, AB / 1997

After a strong showing at the 2013 CONCACAF under 17 tournament last fall, Sarah Kinzner earned her first call into under 20 camp last December. She went on to play 90 minutes in all four of Canada’s games at the recent 2014 under 17 WWC, scoring a goal in Canada’s 3-2 quarterfinal loss against Venezuela.



20- Emma Fletcher | USA / Louisiana State University / Victoria, BC / 1995

Emma Fletcher’s journey to Canada 2014 has been quite unconventional. Born in Victoria, BC, Fletcher attended her first camp in the Canadian under 15 program in 2010. She then chose to represent New Zealand, her father’s birthplace, at the 2012 under 17 WWC. Fletcher played all but five minutes in New Zealand’s three games and was one of three outstanding players on the New Zealand squad identified in the FIFA technical report. She was described as a “good shooter” and a player who “reads the game well” and makes “intelligent runs on and off the ball.”



Fletcher made a total of eight appearances with New Zealand’s under 17 squad from 2011 to 2012. She then decided to make the switch back to Canada, and attended her first camp back in the Canadian youth program in March of 2013.



In her freshman season last fall, Fletcher started all 20 matches for Louisiana State University at the attacking midfield position. She was named to the 2013 Southeastern Conference All-Freshman team and led the conference in assists, with 12. LSU did not qualify for the NCAA tournament.





Forwards (4)





9- Nichelle Prince | CAN / Toronto Lady Lynx / Ajax, ON / 1995

Nichelle Prince is another member of this under 20 team who has already made her debut with Canada’s senior national team, earning three caps at the Yongchuan Cup in January of 2013. Prince scored in just her second appearance at that tournament, a 3-1 loss to Korea Republic.



At the 2012 under 17 WWC, Prince played in all four of Canada’s games, scoring the lone Canadian goal in a 2-1 quarterfinal loss against North Korea. The FIFA technical report stated that Prince was “strong, fast, powerful,” had a “good change of pace,” and “effective use of the ball when in space” when it identified her as one of four outstanding players on that Canadian squad.



Prince played in all 20 of Ohio State’s matches last fall and led the team with 13 goals. Ohio State lost in the first round of 2013 NCAA tournament



11- Janine Beckie | USA / Texas Tech University / Denver, CO / 1994

Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Janine Beckie’s family moved to Denver, Colorado when she was three years old. From 2011 to 2012, Beckie was a member of the U.S. under 18 women's national team, and attended numerous U.S. under 20 camps throughout 2013. She appeared as a substitute in a pair of friendlies against Sweden’s under 20 and under 23 team, and in one friendly against Japan’s under 20 team.



Her brother, Drew Beckie, currently plays for Ottawa Fury of the NASL and featured in two 2012 CONCACAF Olympic qualifiers for Canada’s under 23 team. According to Steven Sandor of the11.ca, Drew was instrumental in convincing his sister to represent Canada.



Beckie was named to the Canadian squad for Canada 2014 just a month after attending her first camp in the Canadian program in June. Despite spending time in many U.S. youth camps, this will be Beckie’s first international tournament.



Beckie played in all but one game at Texas Tech over the last two seasons, and was named to the All-Big 12 First team both years. Texas Tech lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2012 and again in 2013. Beckie was named to the 2013 women’s preseason Mac Hermann trophy watch list, the most prestigious individual award in the NCAA for women’s soccer players.



17- Amandine Pierre-Louis | CAN / Comètes de Laval / Laval, QC / 1995

Amandine Pierre-Louis has prior youth world cup experience from the 2012 under 17 WWC, where she played in all four of Canada’s games. She scored in Canada’s first game of that tournament, a 1-1 draw with Nigeria. Most recently, Pierre-Louis won a silver medal with team Quebec at the 2013 Canada Summer Games.



Pierre-Louis redshirted (sat out of the season) at West Virginia last fall, but is expected to play significant minutes for the team this season.



19- Valérie Sanderson | CAN / Comètes de Laval / Deux-Montagnes, QC / 1995

At the under 17 WWC in 2012, Valérie Sanderson played in three of Canada’s four matches. She scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win over hosts Azerbaijan and was named player of the match. She was also a part of Quebec’s silver medal winning team at the 2013 Canada Summer games.



Sanderson started in all 21 matches for the University of Memphis last fall and set a record for number of goals scored by a freshman in the program with 17, however Memphis did not qualify for the NCAA tournament. Sanderson’s coach at Memphis, Brooks Monaghan, described her as “fantastic in the air” and “good with her back to the goal.”



In case you missed it, a detailed look at Canada’s goalkeepers and defenders can be found here. All photos courtesy of Canada Soccer.



