BY SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW
The Sudbury Canadians will get their first
taste of elite competition in the 2005 season this weekend when
they host two of the top teams in the United Soccer League
(USL) - W-League.
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Cara Smith (dark jersey) and her
Sudbury Canadians teammates face a tough task this
weekend taking on two of the best teams in the USL - W
League this weekend. |
The Canadians will play host to the Ottawa
Fury Women and Toronto Lady Lynx.
The Canadians square off against Toronto
Saturday at 7:30 pm on the Lily Creek field, and then host
Ottawa Sunday at 2 pm at Lily Creek.
Admission to both games is free.
No doubt, the young Canadians' squad will
have their resolve pushed and kicked as both teams are built
with national players and top quality international
players.
"Both teams feature a number of national
players," said head coach Frank Malvaso. "We have 12 of
Canada's best female soccer players coming in
here to play. If fans want to see some of the
top female players, not just in Canada but the world, be at
Lily Creek this weekend."
The Canadians team, bolstered by gritty
additions such as Laurentian University stalwart Cara Smith and
commanding presence Erica Duczeminski, relied on a stingy
defensive game plan to two weekends ago in their first game of
the season, which ended in a 1-0 loss to the Vermont
Voltage.
"The girls started off reasonably well in
terms of an improvement on defence," said Malvaso. "We also
generated good scoring chances, and we need to build off both
of those areas. Realistically, Toronto and Ottawa are going to
be the hard test for us to see if we have closed the gap in any
way."
The Canadians opened their season at
Laurentian University, but because of Mother Nature now move to
the Lily Creek facility, making home a strange place, but the
team is still ready.
"Changing fields is challenging," said
Malvaso. "Ideally we want home field for practicing and getting
comfortable, but May is a difficult month for field conditions.
We deal with it and move on. The girls are looking forward to
these two games. This is what it's all about for our girls -
playing against the best in the world."
