The Canadian national women’s soccer team kicks off its 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign on June 10 against Cameroon. TSN will profile Canada’s 23 players in the 23 days leading up to their tournament opener.

 

ADRIANA LEON

Age: 26

Hometown: Toronto

Position: Forward

Club: West Ham United (FA Women’s Super League)

 

Adriana Leon, a returning member of the Canadian team from the 2015 Women’s World Cup, is one of the team’s biggest impact players. She led Canada with six goals during World Cup qualifying.

Leon first turned heads as a 16-year-old at the 2009 Canada Summer Games. She scored in every game for Ontario, finishing with a tournament-best seven goals. A few months later, she was invited to Canada’s Under-20 camp. She made her debut at the Canadian youth level at the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship, where she had a team-best two goals, but Canada failed to qualify for the U-20 Women’s World Cup.

She accepted an athletic scholarship to the University of Notre Dame in 2010. During her freshman year, she scored the lone goal in the NCAA College Cup final against top-ranked Stanford to earn the Irish the National Championship. She played two seasons for Notre Dame before transferring to the University of Florida.

Leon made her debut on the world stage at the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, where she once again led the team with three goals, all coming in a first-half hat-trick in Canada’s opening match against Argentina. Leon would also add two assists, but the Canadians did not advance to the knockout round. 

Despite earning a few call-ups to senior camp in 2011 and 2012, Leon didn’t make her debut with Canada’s “A” team until Jan. 12, 2013 at the age of 20, earning the start and scoring the lone goal of the game.  Leon played in all but one of Canada’s 17 games in 2013, making 12 starts and recording three goals.  

In 2015, Leon was named to Canada’s roster for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. As a substitute in the opening match against China, Leon drew the foul that led to Christine Sinclair’s penalty kick goal and a 1-0 win for Canada. Leon featured in four of five matches for the Canadians, and played all 90 minutes against the Netherlands. 

However, that tournament would be Leon’s last appearance with the national team for nearly two years. Then-head coach John Herdman didn’t invite her back to camp for the rest of 2015 and for all of 2016, resulting in Leon missing the Rio Olympics.

But she persevered, putting in the work with FC Zürich Frauen in Switzerland. She scored a hat trick against Sturm Graz in the first leg of the Round of 32 in the 2016-17 UEFA Women’s Champions League. 

Leon returned to North America in 2017, joining the Boston Breakers in the NWSL. It was her best year in the league, as she finished with six assists, tied for second-most in the NWSL, and six goals. 

In January 2017, she was called back to the Canadian national team camp, and on Apr. 9, 2017, she made her first appearance for Canada in just over 22 months, subbing into a friendly against Germany. Leon scored twice in her first four games back with the national team, coming off the bench in every match. 

At CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers last fall, Leon led the team with six goals, just one back of American Alex Morgan for the tournament lead. She scored four times in Canada’s dominant 12-0 win over Cuba, and added two more in the team’s semi-final victory against Panama. 

After unsuccessful stints with both Sky Blue FC and Seattle Reign, where she struggled to earn consistent playing time, Leon joined West Ham United in England’s FA Women’s Super League earlier this year. She scored three goals in 10 appearances for the Hammers, including a brace in West Ham’s 3-1 win over Blackburn in the fourth round of the FA Women’s Cup.

Last September, Leon earned her 50th cap with the national team. With her speed, dribbling skills and finishing ability, she is an offensive force off the Canadian bench.

Leon is capable of changing the dynamic of a game, as she did in a friendly against the United States on Nov. 9, 2017, when she scored Canada’s lone goal as a substitute to earn a draw against the top-ranked Americans.