CanWNT gets interim coaching staff for upcoming international window

Canadian under-20 coach Cindy Tye will serve as interim coach for Canada's upcoming women's friendlies against Iceland and South Korea.

Canada Soccer has said head coach Bev Priestman will not be returning in the wake of the recent independent report into the Olympic drone-spying scandal. Priestman, assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joey Lombardi are currently serving one-year suspensions from FIFA, with Lombardi having already resigned his Canada Soccer position.

Tye a former Canadian international who doubles as associate athletic director and women's head coach at Dalhousie University, will be joined by returning assistant coach Neil Wood. The rest of the staff consists of Katie Collar (interim assistant coach), Jen Herst (incumbent goalkeeper and set play coach) and Maryse Bard-Martel (interim performance analyst).

Canada Soccer said assistant coach Andy Spence, who ran the team during the Olympics and last month's 1-1 draw with third-ranked Spain, is "unavailable for this camp and is scheduled to return for the next FIFA window."

Spence has not talked to the media since the Olympics.

Former Canadian international Diana Matheson, now chief growth officer of the new Northern Super League, and Collar, head coach of Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite, were added to the staff for the game against Spain and served as the team's spokeswomen with the media.

The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face No. 13 Iceland on Nov. 29 and No. 19 South Korea on Dec. 3, with both games at the Pinatar Arena in Murcia, Spain.

The 23-player squad features some of Tye's under-20 charges, including North Carolina State University defender Janet Okeke and SMU forward Nyah Rose who receive their first senior call-ups

Okeke, an 18-year-old from Laval, Que., and Rose, a 19-year-old from Markham, Ont., both represented Canada at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in September in Colombia. Jade Rose, Nyah's older sister, has already won 26 senior caps but the 21-year-old Harvard University defender misses the Spain trip through injury.

There are also second call-ups for 18-year-old midfielder Jeneva Hernandez Gray from the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls elite team and 28-year-old defender Megan Reid from the NWSL's Angel City.

The FIFA window, which runs Nov. 25 to Dec. 3, marks Canada's final camp of the year, with North American-based players entering their off-season and European-based players returning to club competition.

Canada has played Iceland twice before, both at the Algarve Cup, with the teams playing to a scoreless draw in February 2019 and Canada winning 1-0 in March 2016.

The Canadian women are 7-1-1 all-time against South Korea and are unbeaten in their last five meetings. The teams drew 0-0 last time they met, in June 2022 in Toronto.

The roster announced Thursday has an average age of 23.

Kadeisha Buchanan, Sydney Collins, Cloé Lacasse and Quinn are also unavailable due to injury with Chelsea's Buchanan the latest to go down, injuring her anterior cruciate ligament with England's Chelsea. Canada Soccer said Seattle Reign forward Jordyn Huitema was unavailable due to personal reasons.

Earlier this month Nyah Rose was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference's third-all-star team, the first Mustang in program history to earn All-ACC honours.

Rose led the American Athletic Conference with 11 goals as a freshman before SMU moved to the ACC.

She scored five goals in 11 games last season, missing five matches early due to international duty with the Canadian U-20 team. Rose scored Canada's first tournament goal against France in a 3-3 draw and had seven shots on goal in the 9-0 rout of Fiji.

Earlier this year, Rose was one of only three sophomores named to the 44-player 2024 Hermann Trophy Watch List. The MAC Hermann Trophy honours the top NCAA soccer player.

There is another Rose on the team — Leicester City forward Deanne Rose, no relation.

Okeke played in 11 games for North Carolina State this season.

Hernandez Gray was also part of the Canadian team at the U-20 World Cup in Colombia and led the Whitecaps Girls Elite side at the inaugural CONCACAF W Champions Cup.

Reid, a California native whose mother was born in Canada, gave up soccer after playing at the University of Virginia to pursue a career as a paramedic. She then returned to the sport, joining the NWSL's Angel City for the 2022 pre-season as a non-roster invitee.

She was rewarded in January with a new contract that runs through 2025. Reid's play also earned her an invitation in February to Canada's camp in San Antonio ahead of the CONCACAF W Gold Cup.

Canada Roster

Goalkeepers: Sabrina D’Angelo, Aston Villa (England); Lysianne Proulx, Juventus (Italy); Kailen Sheridan, San Diego Wave (NWLS).

Defenders: Gabrielle Carle, Washington Spirit (NWSL); Vanessa Gilles, Olympique Lyonnais (France); Ashley Lawrence, Chelsea (England); Janet Okeke, North Carolina State (NCAA); Megan Reid, Angel City (NWSL); Jayde Riviere, Manchester United (England); Shelina Zadorsky, West Ham (England).

Midfielders: Marie-Yasmine Alidou, Benfica (Portugal); Simi Awujo, Manchester United (England); Jessie Fleming, Portland Thorns (NWSL); Julia Grosso, Chicago Red Stars (NWSL); Jeneva Hernandez Gray, Vancouver Whitecaps; Emma Regan, HB Køge (Denmark).

Forwards: Janine Beckie, Racing Louisville (NWSL); Adriana Leon, Aston Villa (England); Nichelle Prince, Kansas City Current (NWSL);Deanne Rose, Leicester City (NWSL); Nyah Rose,Southern Methodist University (NCAA); Olivia Smith, Liverpool (England); Evelyne Viens, AS Roma (Italy).

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024.