Gilles scores in her 50th appearance for Canada in win over Mexico

MURCIA - Casey Stoney has her first victory as Canada coach, but it came with some bruises as the sixth-ranked Canadian women survived a physical challenge from No. 31 Mexico to win 2-0 Saturday at the Pinatar Cup.

Vanessa Gilles celebrated her 50th cap with a goal and Adriana Leon added a late strike to give Canada the win.

Mexico had more scoring chances in the first half at Pinatar Arena but the game changed after Mexican defender Annia Mejia was sent off for a second yellow card in the 40th minute.

"Thy were extremely physical," said Stoney. "At one point I actually said to the fourth (official) my player safety was a concern to me." 

The Canadians broke the deadlock in the 51st minute when Olivia Smith's corner found Jordyn Huitema, who headed it over to Gilles to head home. It was an eighth goal for the 28-year-old centre back from Ottawa and the fourth in her last eight matches.

Gilles, who made her senior debut in November 2019, has become one of the first names on the Canadian team sheet.

"I said at the end of the game it's not easy to get one cap. So to get 50 is quite the achievement," said Stoney, a former England captain who won 130 caps. "She's a big leader and a big part of this group.

"I'm just really pleased for her — sealed it with a win, a goal and a clean sheet."

The shutout went to goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, her 30th in 52 starts (and 57 appearances) for Canada.

Leon scored her 42nd goal in her 123 international appearance, doubling the lead in the 89th minute when she knocked the ball into an empty goal after a nice buildup by Nichelle Prince and Evelyne Viens.

Canada had 64 per cent possession and outshot Mexico 13-11 (5-3 in shots on target) after being outshot 6-4 (3-1 in shots on target) in the first half.

Canada drew No. 17 China 1-1 in Stoney's debut as Canada coach on Wednesday, while Mexico blanked No. 42 Taiwan 4-0. China defeated Taiwan 4-0 earlier Saturday.

The Canadians wrap up tournament play Tuesday against Taiwan.

Smith, a 20-year-old who plays in England for Liverpool, got some rough treatment from Mexico before exiting around the hour mark.

Stoney said she had planned for Smith to play the whole game but pulled her off early "to protect her … (after) she got kicked after kicked after kicked."

"She's such a talent. She's so dynamic in terms of what she does in (terms of) creativity. It's like, how can we just consistently get her in the right areas so she can perform? And then how can the officials look after her a bit better?"

Canada improved to 24-2-3 all-time against Mexico, the third-ranked team in CONCACAF behind the top-ranked Americans and No. 6 Canada. But Stoney warned they were a step up from China and she was proved right until Mexico went a player down.

Stoney revamped her roster from the China game, which saw seven players unavailable after arriving from North America the previous day.

Only Gilles, Gabby Carle, Julia Grosso and Janine Sonis (formerly Janine Beckie) retained their starting spots. Jessie Fleming reclaimed the captain's armband from Gilles.

Angel City defender Megan Reid, a 28-year-old from California whose mother was born in Canada, won her second cap in partnering Gilles at centre back.

The Canadian lineup went into the game with a combined 750 caps, up from 690 for the starting 11 against China.

Mexico lost defender Greta Espinoza to injury after an awkward collision on a second-minute corner. 

Four minutes later, Mejia was cautioned for a nasty studs-up tackle on Smith. And the Mexican should have been shown another card in the 35th when she cynically bodied Huitema to the turf but went unpunished by Hungarian referee Katalin Sipos.

But Mejia got the second yellow minutes later, scything down Leon from behind.

"Eventually (the referee) did something about it but I thought it was too late," said Stoney, who had been unimpressed by Sipos' officiating in the win over China.

Veteran defender Shelina Zadorsky replaced Reid to start the second half, followed by Emma Regan, Viens, Prince, Ashley Lawrence and Marie-Yasmine Alidou off the Canadian bench.

Canada is missing the injured Kadeisha Buchanan (Chelsea), Sydney Collins and Bianca St-Georges (North Carolina Courage), Cloé Lacasse (Utah Royals), Deanne Rose (Leicester City) and Quinn (Vancouver Rise).

Midfielder Simi Awujo missed the game after picking up a knock in training.

It's Canada's first time at the Pinatar Cup, previously won by Scotland, Belgium, Iceland and Finland.

The Canadian women have not lost in regulation time in 21 matches dating back to a 1-0 loss to Brazil in Montreal in October 2023. Canada has gone 13-0-8 since then with three of the draws turning into penalty shootout losses (two to the U.S. and one to Germany) and one into a shootout win (over Brazil).

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 21, 2025