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St. Thomas' Kaila Novak a member of Canada's U17 national team is flying out of Nicaragua this morning for Miami after CONCACAF tournament cancelled because of rioting and protests. She and all members of Canadian team are fine. #ldnont @FCLondon — Morris Dalla Costa (@MoDaCoatLFPress) April 23, 2018

Canada won its opening match 3-0 over Bermuda with Novak scoring two goals. Novak is also a member of FC London soccer club.

Novak was accompanied to Nicaragua by her father, Jan. He’s expected to be able to fly out on Tuesday morning.

“They are absolutely fine,” said Jeanette Novak, Kaila’s mother. “Canada Soccer did a really great job of sheltering them from what was going on. The girls have not seen anything. The hotel they were staying in was closer than some of the other hotels. They did have police presence when moving from the hotel to the stadium to keep them really safe.

“They felt safe, but because the violence had been escalating over the past few days, and there were some deaths down there, they just decided to cancel the entire tournament.”

Novak said that she normally travels to the tournaments with Jan to watch Kaila play but couldn’t make it this time.

“Kaila’s dad is currently there with about 20 other parents. He’s flying out (Tuesday),” Jeanette said. “Where he was staying he had to drive into the city and there was the Friday evening after the first game when he tried to visit with Kaila at the hotel, because they were given some parent time, but he couldn’t drive through the city because of the rioting.”

Protests turned into deadly clashes and looting that continued into Sunday in Managua. A reporter was shot and killed in the Caribbean town of Bluefields while doing a Facebook Live newscast.

The disappointment of not being able to compete in the tournament was tempered by the primary concern — the safety of individuals.

“It was such a good start for her and the team,” Novak said. “She was disappointed but obviously she completely understands that everybody’s safety is paramount. She was definitely on a roll and really looking forward to making a huge impact in this tournament.

“Hopefully they’ll reschedule soon and they can keep up the momentum that they had a hopefully she’ll get back in the game and be as effective as she was.”

Canada was supposed to play Costa Rica on Sunday and the United States on Tuesday.