Coach Morace ready for international derby

Listen to Carolina Morace



Canada’s women’s national head coach Carolina Morace will make her Canadian debut this Monday night as Canada hosts USA at BMO Field in Toronto. She has a pretty tough competitor as Canada goes up against the world’s number-one ranked country and defending Olympic champions. Still, Canada is ready for the task as the team plays in front of its home fans.



“They want to win – they are the champions of the Olympic Games and they want to confirm their power,” says Morace.



The Canada-USA match, presented by Winners, kicks off at 19.00 on Monday night. Tickets to the match are available via Ticketmaster at ticketmaster.ca / 416.872.5000. While Canada faces USA on an annual basis, this marks the first time in eight years that Canada has hosted USA on home soil.



In recent years, Canada has closed the gap against USA. Last year in the quarter-final stage at the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament, Canada pushed USA into extra time before falling 1:2 to the eventual Olympic champions. Four months earlier at the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualification Tournament, Canada pulled off a 1:1 draw with USA in the confederation final, only losing the trophy to USA after kicks from the penalty spot.



Canada’s all-time record against USA is three wins, four draws and 37 losses. Canada’s last victory was a 3:0 victory on 11 March 2001 at the 8th Algarve Cup in Portugal. Amy Walsh was the team captain while Karina LeBlanc posted the clean sheet.



At home, Canada has only played USA four times (one draw and three losses). The last contest was a 2:2 draw on 30 June 2001 in Toronto.



Coach Morace has had the Canadian squad for four games thus far. The team posted two wins, one draw and one loss at the 2009 Cyprus Women’s Cup in March. The team finished second after falling to England in the final.



Morace says that her players are in better shape than they were two months ago. Of note, some of the players have started their 2009 seasons with clubs in Canada, USA and Europe. This past week, coach Morace has had the full team together for two-a-day training sessions on Thursday and Friday, a closed-door exhibition on Saturday, and a final preparation session on Sunday night.



Canada, whose title sponsor is Winners and presenting sponsor is Teck, has one of the best women’s programs in the world. The team currently owns a six-game unbeaten streak on home soil, including a 1:1 draw with Brazil last 10 July 2008. For those fans who are outside the Greater Toronto Area and can not attend Monday’s match, the match will be broadcast live on Rogers Sportsnet (19.00 ET / 16.00 PT).