The Canadian Soccer Association announced today that four Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite players have been called up to Canada’s women’s U-17 national team.
Defender Carley Radomski, midfielder Jasmin Dhanda, and strikers Elissa Neff (pictured) and Kajal Parmar will join the rest of head coach Bryan Rosenfeld’s 20 player squad for a seven-day pre-tournament camp in the United States in advance of the 2012 CONCACAF Women's Under-17 Championship in Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala. The eight-team regional championship runs from May 2 to 12 at the Estadio Cementos Progresso. Canada needs to finish amongst the top-three teams in the region to qualify for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Azerbaijan 2012.
At the 2012 CONCACAF Women's Under-17 Championship, Canada will face Panama, Jamaica and host Guatemala in the group phase of the competition. The top-two teams from the group will then advance to the May 10 semi-final phase to face either Bahamas, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago or USA from the opposite group. The tournament's third place match and championship final both take place on May 12.
The pre-tournament camp runs April 23 to 29. All 20 players have experience from at least one of the five previous Canadian camps between August 2011 and March 2012.
Since August 2011, coach Rosenfeld has featured 32 different players in his national youth camps. By the time this particular pre-tournament wraps up on 29 April, his final group of 20 players will have benefitted from more than 1,000 combined days in national youth projects (an average of 50 days per player) from the U-15 level up. In the five previous projects, Rosenfeld's teams posted a draw and loss against Japan, a pair of wins against Mexico, a draw against Germany, and a pair of wins against Trinidad and Tobago.
The 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Azerbaijan runs September 22 to October 13. Along with the three CONCACAF teams, the 16-team tournament will qualify three teams from Asia (China PR, Japan and Korea DPR), three teams from Africa (Gambia, Ghana and Nigeria), one team from Oceania (New Zealand), three teams from South America (Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay), host Azerbaijan and two more teams from Europe (to be determined in late June).
Canada has participated in both previous editions of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup (New Zealand 2008 and Trinidad and Tobago 2010). Canada has also won three CONCACAF women's youth titles, with two won at the Under-20 level (2004 and 2008) and one won at the Under-17 level (2010).
CANADA
GK- Taylor Bucklin | USA / CFC United
GK- Kailen Sheridan | CAN / Pickering SC
FB- Madeline Iozzi | CAN / Pickering SC
D- Lindsay Agnew | USA / Ohio Premier Eagles
D- Kadeisha Buchanan | CAN / Erin Mills Mighty Eagles U-16
D- Nicole Loncar | CAN / Brams United SC
D- Victoria Pickett | CAN / Glen Shields
D- Rebecca Pongetti | CAN / Oakville SC
D- Carley Radomski | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite
D- Larisa Staub | CAN / Angels SWU
M- Jasmin Dhanda | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite
M- Ashley Lawrence | CAN / Erin Mills Mighty Eagles U-16
M- Rebecca Quinn | CAN / Erin Mills Mighty Eagles U-16
M- Sabrina Santarossa | CAN / CS Vallée Richelieu
F- Summer Clarke | CAN / Richmond Red Hot Selects U-16
F- Elissa Neff | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite
F- Kajal Parmar | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite
F- Amandine Pierre-Louis | CAN / Saint-Leonard
F- Nichelle Prince | CAN / Pickering SC
F- Valérie Sanderson | CAN / FC Boisbriand U-16
