Whitby’s Sheridan perfect in net as Canada tops CONCACAF W group

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Published July 14, 2022 at 1:39 pm

Sunday’s 2-0 win over Costa Rica booked a ticket for the Canadian Women’s National Team to next summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand but the job is not yet done at the CONCACAF W Championships in Mexico.

Canada is 3-0 and topped its pool, earning the squad a semi-final match tonight against Jamaica, the second-place team in Group B. Canada is 8-0 all-time against the Reggae Girlz, outscoring them 57-1, but this is a different team in 2022 and will pose more of a threat to the Canadians.

A victory over Jamaica will likely set up a championship final against the world #1 Americans (who play Costa Rica in the other semi-final), with only one team earning an automatic berth to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

If the final does not go as planned for the defending Olympic gold medalists, they will get another crack at a spot in Paris when the second- and third-place finishers from this tournament face off for the final CONCACAF Olympic berth in September 2023.

Whitby’s Kailen Sheridan has been perfect in net for Canada while Julie Grosso is the tournament’s co-leader in goals with three.

Jesse Fleming’s goal in the fifth minute Sunday was enough for Canada to win their group and one of four available spots for the World Cup, with veteran Sophie Schmidt adding an insurance marker in the 69th minute, just to be sure.

All four of Canada’s Durham Region players saw action Sunday, with Sheridan and Allysha Chapman (Courtice) starting. Nichelle Prince (Ajax) came on to start the second half while Jayde Riviere (Pickering) came in for Chapman in the 60th minute.

Grosso’s goals were her first ever for the national team while Christine Sinclair scored her world-leading 190th international goal in the tournament opener against Trinidad & Tobago.

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