Lawrence a critical piece in Canada’s World Cup hopes
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As Canada heads into the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand as the reigning Olympic gold medalists, don’t be surprised if Ashley Lawrence is Canada’s best player.
While Jessie Fleming, Stephanie Labbe and Julia Grosso all stole headlines for their moments that led to Canada winning gold at the Olympics in Tokyo, a strong argument can be made Lawrence was their best player from start to finish.
In her second Olympic Games, the Caledon, Ont., product played 591 of a possible 600 minutes and started all six matches to help Canada claim gold for the first time in women’s soccer. She got an assist in the preliminary round against Great Britain and scored in the penalty shootout in the quarterfinals to help Canada get past Brazil.
At the Rio Olympics in 2016, Lawrence started five of six games and earned an assist in the bronze-medal game on Deanne Rose’s goal in the 25th minute to open the scoring against Brazil.
Lawrence made a big impression at her first World Cup appearance in 2015, notching her first international goal in the round robin against the Netherlands. At the 2019 tournament, she started in all four games for Canada, playing the full 90 minutes in each match. She picked up an assist on Christine Sinclair’s goal against the Netherlands in group stage play.
In 2019, she was named Canadian Player of the Year for the first time in her career.
At the club level, the 28-year-old Lawrence signed a three-year deal with Chelsea on July 1, joining fellow Canadians Fleming and Kadeisha Buchanan after six seasons in France with Paris Saint-Germain. With Pernille Harder and Magdalena Eriksson moving on from Chelsea, it opens the door for Lawrence to play a big role on a club that won the WSL and FA Cup last season with legitimate Champions League aspirations.
“Ashley has established herself as one of the best fullbacks in the women’s game for both club and country,” Chelsea manager Emma Hayes said after signing Lawrence. “Her ability to get forward, her progressive play into the final third is a standout strength and she can play on both the left and right side.”
During her six years with PSG, Lawrence helped the team to two French Cups and one league title. Last season, she started 18 of 20 games she appeared in and recorded one assist.
While they’re not the most offensively prolific squad, Canada has demonstrated they can defend at a high level. The unit of Lawrence, Buchanan, Vanessa Gilles and Allysha Chapman played a big role in Canada winning Olympic gold.
With midfielder Desiree Scott not heading to the World Cup as she continues to recover from a knee injury, it eliminates a key part of the defensive midfield which will put a little more pressure on the backline to shut down the opposition’s best.
A scenario could emerge where Lawrence’s versatility is utilized. Initially starting her career as a midfielder, she transitioned to playing at fullback. Demonstrating she can play both, her defence and ability to move the ball forward will be critical for Canada as they kick off their World Cup journey on July 20 against Nigeria in Australia and New Zealand.
"When I was first asked to play the position, I was very reluctant, especially coming from midfield. It's very different, just in terms of the spaces. [As a fullback], I'm more on the side … but in midfield, you have more of a free role, you can run pretty much everywhere. It's so different in terms of tactics and physicality," Lawrence explained in a June 2022 interview with CBC Sports.
"As a fullback, we're really asked to add to the attack, to go forward, to put in crosses. We're even judged, maybe not as much as forwards, in terms of statistics, like passes and assists and goals."