The Canadian Soccer Association (CSA) announced today that eight members of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-18 Girls Prospects team have been selected to a four-day identification camp with Canada's U-20 women's national team.
The eight Whitecaps Prospects players are part of a 22-player squad that has been selected by Canadian U-20 and senior women's national team head coach Carolina Morace. Starting Sunday, the camp runs through until next Wednesday, May 12, at South Surrey Athletic Park in Surrey, BC. This will include a friendly match versus the Whitecaps women's team on May 12. A second identification camp involving a new group of players will then take place in Toronto, Ontario, from May 13 to May 16.
Six of the selected Prospects players were part of the Team BC squad that won the gold medal in the women's soccer competition at the 2009 Canada Games in Prince Edward Island. Among those players is striker Jenna Richardson, who appeared for Canada at the 2010 CONCACAF Women's Under-20 Championship in Guatemala. The Surrey, BC, native is one of three selected Prospects players that were named in the Canada Games all-star team last year. Centre back Erin Uchacz and left fullback Nicole Ambrose made the all-star starting XI as members of Team BC.
Other Prospects players to be selected for the four-day camp include goalkeeper Gurveen Clair, centre back Abigail Phillips, and the midfield trio of Vanessa Kovacs, Jaclyn Sawicki, and Katie Turney.
Morace's U-20 coaching staff, meanwhile, includes two former members of the Whitecaps women's team in Andrea Neil (assistant coach) and Sian Bagshawe (goalkeeping coach).
About Vancouver Whitecaps FC Prospects
Vancouver Whitecaps FC Prospects is a 10-month program that provides young elite players with the opportunity to train and develop in a high performance environment under the guidance of the Whitecaps professional coaching staff. Fully integrated with the BC Soccer Player Development Pathway, Whitecaps Prospects is comprised of two streams (full-time and part-time programs) that are delivered in two phases from October to the end of July each year.
