Nicole Setterlund will serve as Canada's captain at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago. (Photo courtesy of the Canadian Soccer Association)This has already been an amazing year for Canada's under-17 women's soccer team — and it could get even better.
Team Canada is currently in Trinidad and Tobago to compete in the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, a 16-team competition featuring the best women's youth sides from around the world.
Two years ago in the inaugural tournament in New Zealand, Canada reached the quarter-finals but lost to Germany, the eventual bronze-medal winner. Another quarter-final appearance this time around is a distinct possibility, when you consider how strongly Canada has performed in 2010.
The Canadians have seven wins, three ties and two losses in international matches this year, and qualified for the World Cup by winning the 2010 CONCACAF U-17 Championships in March.
That tournament saw the Canadians defeat the United States in a dramatic semifinal, 5-3 on penalty kicks, before dispatching Mexico in the final.
Canada's 21-player World Cup roster includes 16 returning players from the CONCACAF championship. The two notable absences are Katherine Caverly and Sabrina Hemond, out with injuries.
Keeping the core of the CONCACAF team intact was a conscious decision by Canadian coach Bryan Rosenfeld.
"Working with these players, we are a family," Rosenfeld told CBC Sports. "I think that has to be well understood within the dynamic of the team and that shows also on the field — that we will fight for each other."
Canada's first-round opponents include Ghana, Ireland (runners-up at this year's European championship) and Brazil (the reigning South American champion).
It's a tough group, but Rosenfeld is cautiously optimistic about Canada's chances of advancing to the knockout stage.
"If we can exceed our expectations from the last World Cup of getting out of the group stage and get past the quarter-finals, it's going to get fun. It'll be exciting," he said.
Rosenfeld has a talented group of players at his disposal, including Ally Courtnall.
The daughter of former NHL star Russ Courtnall, the UCLA-bound defender is a dangerous threat going forward and a fierce competitor.
"She's a great competitor. She can be an impact player coming down the right side, using her pace and speed," Rosenfeld said.
The Canadian coach can also call upon two experienced players who competed at the last U-17 World Cup in 2008: midfielder Diamond Simpson and goalkeeper Sabrina D'Angelo
Rosenfeld will be looking to Simpson to provide the team with leadership in Trinidad.
"She is a winner and she won't step off that field unless she's given everything to win that game," the Canadian coach stated.
D'Angelo didn't see any action for Canada at the 2008 World Cup, but she'll be between the posts as the team's No. 1 shot stopper in Trinidad.
"Her work ethic and drive to be the best she can possibly be is second to none. I've never seen a goalkeeper at her age work as hard as she does," Rosenfeld said.
A native of Thunder Bay, Ont., Rosenfeld represented Canada at the FIFA World Youth Championship in the Soviet Union in 1985, and was 22 when he won his only cap with Canada's senior team in a 1-1 tie against Honduras. The former goalkeeper turned to coaching after retiring and took over as head of Canada's junior women's team in December 2002.
During his playing career, Rosenfeld earned the nickname "Death" because of his intensity and level of seriousness on the soccer pitch. Time has not mellowed Rosenfeld, now 44, as he is known to push his players hard.
The players have responded to Rosenfeld's tough-minded approach.
"I really like the physical contact. I like getting into tackles. I'm bigger than other girls, so I like destroying and causing havoc on the field," said team captain Nicole Setterlund.
