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Diana Matheson, Stephanie Labbe, and Shelina Zadorsky will join a Canadian team looking to get back on the podium in Rio
Canada women's national team head coach John Herdman named threeWashington Spirit players to Canada's 2016 Olympic roster. Herdman selected Spirit starters Diana Matheson, Stephanie Labbe, and Shelina Zadorsky to his 18-person roster. After a disappointing finish in last year's World Cup, Canada will look to repeat their 2012 Olympic success.
The Rio Olympics will be Matheson's third Olympic tournament, while it will be a first for Labbe and Zadorsky. In 2012, Matheson scored the winning goal in the bronze medal match against France after the team lost a dramatic 4-3 semifinal to the United States. All three Spirit players are projected to start for Canada during the tournament.
Canada is in Group G alongside Germany, Australia, and Zimbabwe. That will make for a very difficult group, as three of the four teams listed in the top 10 of the current FIFA rankings. The top two finishers from each group move on to the knockout round, in addition to the top two third-place finishers of the three groups. Canada opens against Australia on August 3.
The three Canadians will play against Sky Blue FC this Saturday before departing for training camp. U.S. women's national team players would leave after Saturday's match as well, with training camp is expected to start on July 1. The contingent of Canadian and American internationals would miss at least six matches if both teams advanced to the final or third-place match.
RECAP
Toronto FC defeats Galaxy for 1st time in 11 tries
Drew Moor broke scoreless match in 79th minute
Drew Moor cradled his newborn son Joseph in his arms during the singing of "O Canada" on Saturday night.
Some 76 minutes later, the new dad scored Toronto FC's only goal in a 1-0 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy, ending a 10-game winless streak against L.A., and kicking off a gruelling stretch of games on a positive note.
"He's coming on the field for every game now," Moor joked in the dressing room post-game.
Moor marched onto a sun-drenched BMO Field for the anthems carrying his son, who was clad in a tiny No. 3 "Moor" sleeper.
The game looked destined for a goalless draw when the defender scored on a diving header from the top of the six-yard box. Midfielder Benoit Cheyrou sent in a long ball that Eriq Zavaleta headed backward toward the net, placing it perfectly for Moor to launch past Galaxy 'keeper Brian Rowe for his 24th career goal.
"I asked (Zavaleta) after the game, 'Did you know I was there?' He said yes," Moor said. "I just had a feeling he knew I was there, and it was a perfect header from him, and I thought he and I were on the same page all night, even in the attacking half there. It was a fun goal for sure."
Toronto (5-5-4) had been winless in its previous 10 games against Los Angeles, a stretch that included five Galaxy victories and five draws.
The Galaxy was missing two of their stars in Robbie Keane, who is playing for Ireland at the European Championship, and former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, who didn't make the trip due to a hamstring injury.
But the Reds were missing two of their own top guns — Michael Bradley is with the U.S. team, and striker Jozy Altidore remains out with a hamstring injury. Toronto coach Greg Vanney pointed out that even L.A.'s depleted squad was a far more experienced side.
"I wrote up what I thought would be their lineup, and I was still going 'This guy's won a championship. This guy's won a championship. This guy has played in Europe,"' Vanney said. "I would say the amount of MLS games they've had, still with that being sort of their second-choice team was probably quadruple what our group has had."
The game marked the first victory for Toronto over the California side at BMO Field since 2008, and the first meeting of the two teams at the stadium on Lake Ontario since March 2013.
The Reds were also banking on a strong result to kick off a gruelling stretch of five games in 15 days. They host the Vancouver Whitecaps on Tuesday in the first leg of the Canadian Championship final.
"It's good for our group, it gets us off on the right foot," Vanney said.
cbc.ca
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