Canada U-17 soccer team draws 1:1 with Japan

Canada drew 1:1 with Japan in a Women’s U-17 International Friendly match this Monday 29 August. Canadian player of the match Summer Clarke scored in the 26th minute before Akari Shiraki drew level in the 61st minute. The match was played at Field #4 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA, USA.

It was Canada’s second match with the U-17 group, following up on a 1:2 loss to Japan three days earlier. Canada’s coach Bryan Rosenfeld said he was content with the team’s progress from one match to the next.

"It was a strong start for us in that we were very well organised, we stuck to our game plan and we created some good opportunities," said Rosenfeld.

The Canadian goal was a result of some sustained pressure in the Japanese defensive zone. Nichelle Prince had struck the post and the Japanese goalkeeper Miyu Someya was forced to make a save before Clarke collected a rebound and knocked it in for the 1-0 lead.

In the second half, Rosenfeld said the team momentarily got stretched in the midfield and the attacker was able to create some space to make her move in on goal. Shiraki cut inside to score her second goal in as many matches against Canada.

For this second match against Japan, Canada’s starting XI featured Maryse Bard-Martel in goal, Valérie Moisan at left back, Kadeisha Buchanan and Myriam Guay at centre back, Lindsay Agnew at right back, and Nicole Loncar, Larisa Staub, Ashley Lawrence (captain), Nichelle Prince, Elissa Neff and Summer Clarke from the midfield up through to the attack.

In the second half, coach Rosenfeld’s five substitutions were Prince off for Amandine Pierre-Louis (60th minute), Neff off for Valérie Sanderson (62′), Staub off for Rebecca Quinn (68′), Moisan off for Leticia Skeete (71′), and Pierre-Louis off for Kajal Parmar (84′).

Japan’s starting XI featured Miyu Someya in goal, Yuri Nagamachi at left back, Arisa Matsubara and Ruka Norimatsu at centre back, Ayaka Inoue at right back, and Yui Narumiya, Miki Hirata, Rin Sumida, Akari Shiraki, Ayaka Noguchi and Yuka Toriumi from midfield up through to the attack.

In the second half, coach Hiroshi’s substitutions were Toriumi off for Shimizu (46′) and Narumiya, Inour and Shiraki off for Mizuki Nakamura, Rika Masuya and Yuka Momiki (68′).

For the second time in less than a week, Japan played USA and Canada on back-to-back nights. No Japanese footballers, however, played the full 90 minutes on back-to-back nights. Instead, six of the starting XI against Canada did not play against USA; four others on the starting XI against Canada had been used as substitutes against USA. Japan completed its four-match series with two wins and two draws, including a win and draw with Canada).

From the 16 Canadian footballers that featured in this 29 August match, two of them made their international debut, goalkeeper Maryse Bard-Martel and midfielder Larisa Staub.