US Women to play 2 matches against Canada in July

Tuesday, 21 April 09, 03:32 PM · Comments(2)

The US Women will play their rival Canada twice in July for a rematch of the 2008 Olympic quarter finals. They will face each other first on Sunday, July 19th at Marina Auto Stadium in Rochester, NY. The second game will be on Wednesday, July 22nd at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, SC.

These matches are very interesting for a couple of reasons. One of them is that the last time these teams played each other, the US beat Canada to the semi-final of the Olympics. Natasha Kai scored the game-winning goal on a cross from Shannon Boxx with a diving header in over time. It's been a while since the teams met, but they know each other very well having played a total of 44 matches (the most times the US has faced any country in history) but now Canada has a different coach. Legendary Italian player Carolina Morace has taken over the Canadians and will likely introduce the players to a different style of play.

The second reason is that some Canadian players are playing here in the US in the Women's Professional Soccer league and are teammates with US players. Forward Christine Sinclair is playing in the Bay Area with FC Gold Pride with US goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart, defender RachelBuehler, and midfielders Leslie Osborne and Tina DiMartino. Karina LeBlanc is the starting keeper for the Los Angeles Sol which has defender Stephanie Cox, midfielders Aly Wagner and ShannonBoxx. Canadian forward Martina Franko has just signed with the Sol as well. Melissa Tancredi is playing in St. Louis alongside US goalkeeper Hope Solo, defender/midfielder Lori Chalupny, and forward Tina Ellertson.

Abby Wambach, who scored 142 goals at Our Lady of Mercy High School, where she was an all-American and 1997 high school player of the year could also return to her hometown. Last time she played in Rochester, she scored 2 goals for the States' 3-1 victory over Mexico on September 13, 2006. She also scored 2 goals last time the US played at Blackbaud helping the US defeat Mexico 3-0.

These matches will be the last home games for the US and they are scheduled to go on a European tour after the WPS season ends.

For tickets to the Japan matches in May, or the Canada series in July, visit ussoccer.com for more information.

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