Canadian women's national team announces December camp

Canada Soccer

Canadian women’s national team head coach John Herdman announced today a 23-player roster for a training camp in Fullerton, California. The camp will continue the team's preparations in advance of the 2012 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, BC. The camp begins today and runs until December 15.

Among the 23 players to be selected by Herdman are 15 former members of Vancouver Whitecaps FC. They include goalkeeper Erin McLeod; defenders Melanie Booth, Candace Chapman, Robyn Gayle, Brittany Timko, Shannon Woeller and Emily Zurrer; midfielders Kaylyn Kyle, Carmelina Moscato, Sophie Schmidt, Desiree Scott and Chelsea Stewart; and strikers Chelsea Buckland, Christine Sinclair and Melissa Tancredi.

Canada is coming off a 2-1 victory over Sweden to close out its 2011 international season. In a record 24 matches this year, Canada posted 14 wins, four draws and six losses. Canada's win over Sweden on November 22 also set a national record for wins in a season.

The 2012 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying runs January 19-29 at BC Place. Canada's first three matches are January 19 against Haiti, January 21 against Cuba, and January 23 against Costa Rica. Should Canada finish first or second in its group, it will advance to the January 27 semi-final match against the first or second-place team from the opposite group (either USA, Mexico, Guatamala or Dominican Republic).

This will mark the first time a CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying tournament is played in Canada. The top-two teams from the eight-team competition will qualify for the London 2012 Women's Olympic Football Tournament. USA and Canada were the two qualifiers in April 2008; Canada, Mexico, USA and Costa Rica were the four best teams at the most recent CONCACAF women's championship in October 2011.