Canada Soccer Announces Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship Roster

Canada Soccer have announced their squad for the upcoming Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship, one of three Concacaf women’s youth tournaments in which Canada will compete this year. The 20-player squad will compete for one of only two remaining spots in Concacaf from 22 February through 8 March in San Cristobal and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
 
Canada are one of 20 nations competing at this year’s Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship, which will exclude this year’s FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup hosts Costa Rica and Panama. Canada will play group matches against El Salvador, Guatemala and Jamaica after which it will need to advance past elimination matches in the Round of 16, Quarter-finals and Semi-finals. Unlike recent cycles, only two nations (not three) will qualify through the Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship.
 
“We have set a goal to qualify through Concacaf to both FIFA youth tournaments, although we know it will be challenging under the new format,” said Rhian Wilkinson, Canada Soccer’s Women’s U-20 and U-17 Coach. “Playing up to seven matches across 16 days under the new format will test us both physically and mentally, but that is the point of the tournament. That pressure will help develop our players as they continue to progress towards the Women’s National Team.”
 
From 16 nations in four groups, the top-12 nations (three from each group) will join four pre-qualified nations in the Concacaf Round of 16. From there, there are no second chances at the U-20 level as each round will eliminate the losing side until only the two winners of the Concacaf Semi-finals qualify for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
 
As determined through the draw, Canada could face USA in a Concacaf elimination match for a spot at a FIFA women’s youth tournament for just the second time ever if USA finishes either first or third in Group C (facing Cuba, Dominican Republic and Honduras). Only in 2010 have the two nations met under such pressure with Canada ultimately qualifying for that year’s FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup through kicks from the penalty mark.
 
This year’s Canada U-20 squad features players born 2000 or later, all of whom have benefited from playing experience in Canada Soccer’s Women’s EXCEL Program at the youth level. From the squad, 17 have participated in previous Concacaf or FIFA youth tournaments in recent years.
 
“We can see that our system, the Canada Soccer Regional Excel Program, is working better than ever in delivering a connected and unified system and ensuring that there are more opportunities for our young players to be seen across the country,” said Wilkinson. “The whole program is connected and that is an important contribution to the Women’s National Team Program.”

Beyond the U-20 tournament, the Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Championship runs 19 April to 3 May and the Concacaf Girls’ Under-15 Championship takes place in early August. The 2020 Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Championship will feature up to seven matches across 15 days after which three Concacaf nations will qualify for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2020. To date, Canada have qualified for seven FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cups since 2002 and all six FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cups since 2008. Just last year, Canada finished fourth at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Uruguay 2018.
 
CANADA
1- GK- Anna Karpenko | CAN / Super REX Ontario
2- F- Caleigh Boeckx | USA / Rice University
3- F- Léonie Portelance | CAN / AS Varennes
4- M- Marika Guay | USA / Santa Clara University
5- CB- Jade Rose | CAN / Super REX Ontario
6- CB- Joanna Verzosa-Dolezal | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite Super REX
7- M- Mya Jones | USA / University of Memphis
8- FB- Emma Regan | USA / University of Texas at Austin
9- F- Tanya Boychuk | CAN / FC Edmonton REX
10- M- Maya Ladhani | CAN / Super REX Ontario
11- F- Kaila Novak | USA / UCLA
12- M- Caitlin Shaw | USA / University of Oregon
13- CB- Samantha Chang | USA / University of South Carolina
14- M- Lara Kazandjian | USA / University of Memphis
15- CB- Molly Quarry | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite Super REX
16- M- Sonia Walk | CAN / Super REX Ontario
17- F- Andersen Williams | USA / Texas A & M University
18- M- Wayny Balata | CAN / CS Lakeshore
19- M- Jazmine Wilkinson | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Girls Elite Super REX
20- GK- Kayza Massey | USA / West Virginia University
 
CANADA A-Z
Name | Birthyear | City where they grew up | First club
Balata, Wayny | 2001 | Montréal, QC, CAN | AS Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
Boeckx, Caleigh | 2000 | Calgary, AB, CAN | Calgary Blizzard Olympic
Boychuk, Tanya | 2000 | Edmonton, AB, CAN | McLeod Community League
Chang, Samantha | 2000 | Mississauga, ON, CAN | Mississauga SC
Guay, Marika | 2000 | Châteauguay, QC, CAN | AS Châteauguay
Jones, Mya | 2001 | Calgary, AB, CAN | Calgary South West United
Karpenko, Anna | 2002 | Richmond Hill, ON, CAN | Richmond Hill SC
Kazandjian, Lara | 2002 | Kirkland, QC, CAN | CS Lakeshore
Ladhani, Maya | 2002 | Guelph, ON, CAN | Guelph SA
Massey, Kayza | 2001 | Ottawa, ON, CAN | Ottawa Gloucester Dragons
Novak, Kaila | 2002 | St. Thomas, ON, CAN | St. Thomas SC
Portelance, Léonie | 2001 | Brossard, QC, CAN | AS Brossard
Quarry, Molly | 2002 | Bowen Island, BC, CAN | Bowen Island FC
Regan, Emma | 2000 | Burnaby, BC, CAN | Burnaby Girls SC
Rose, Jade | 2003 | Markham, ON, CAN | Markham SC
Shaw, Caitlin | 2001 | Vancouver, BC, CAN | Coquitlam SC
Verzosa-Dolezal, Joanna | 2002 | Delta, BC, CAN | SurDel Girls SA
Walk, Sonia | 2002 | Toronto, ON, CAN | East York SC
Wilkinson, Jazmine | 2002 | Nanaimo, BC, CAN | Nanaimo Harbour City FC
Williams, Andersen | 2002 | Calgary, AB, CAN | Calgary South West United SA