Short-handed Canadian soccer women tie China in head coach Casey Stoney's debut

The Canadian Press

· Posted: Feb 19, 2025 3:44 PM EST | Last Updated: February 19

Casey Stoney's debut arsenic caput manager of Canada's women's shot team was a communicative of 2 halves against China astatine the Pinatar Cup connected Wednesday.

"I liked the archetypal half. I didn't similar the 2nd half," Stoney said succinctly aft the 1-1 gully successful Murcia, Spain.

Trailing 1-0 aft a Julia Grosso extremity successful the 16th minute, 17th-ranked China rebounded from a dilatory commencement to propulsion adjacent successful the 58th minute. And Canada needed a stellar diving prevention successful stoppage clip by goalkeeper Sabrina D'Angelo to sphere the necktie aft a China corner.

It was a somewhat choppy show by the sixth-ranked Canadian women arsenic Stoney, a erstwhile England skipper who enactment successful complaint of Canada successful mid-January, watched from the sideline astatine Pinatar Arena.

"I thought we lacked a small spot of power and subject and benignant of went distant from our benignant of play a small spot successful the 2nd half," said Stoney. "We allowed China to dictate what we did a small spot more. They were precise physical. I don't deliberation the officiating [led by Hungarian referee Katalin Sipos] helped america to play our crippled contiguous arsenic well, which was a spot of an issue. But we request to power that, irrelevant of the officiating."

WATCH l Grosso scores Canada's lone extremity successful gully with China:

Canada continues tourney play Saturday against No. 31 Mexico earlier facing No. 42 Taiwan adjacent Tuesday, besides astatine the Pinatar Arena. Mexico blanked Taiwan 4-0 earlier Wednesday.

Substitute Adriana Leon appealed unsuccessfully for a punishment erstwhile she was taken down successful the China punishment container successful the 83rd minute. Stoney said it was "100 per cent" a penalty.

Stoney was missing a slew of players for Canada's archetypal crippled since aboriginal December.

Centre backmost Vanessa Gilles, connected the juncture of her 49th cap, captained the broadside for the archetypal clip successful spot of Jessie Fleming. Stoney explained aft the lucifer that Fleming was 1 of 7 North American-based players unavailable for the crippled aft lone arriving successful campy Tuesday.

WATCH l Stoney connected becoming Canadian women's shot squad coach:

Canada dominated possession early

"Vanessa is simply a earthy person for maine and it was a earthy prime for maine to springiness her the captain's armband," said Stoney.

D'Angelo started successful extremity down a backline of Ashley Lawrence, Shelina Zadorsky, Gilles and Gabby Carle with Marie-Yasmine Alidou, Emma Regan, Grosso and Janine Sonis (formerly Janine Beckie) successful the midfield. Nichelle Prince, connected her 30th birthday, and Evelyne Viens started up front.

Canada dominated possession aboriginal connected and Grosso scored the archetypal extremity connected Stoney's watch, sliding a debased changeable past the goalkeeper Xu Huan aft being enactment down the defence via a well-flighted agelong shot from Carle. It was Grosso's 4th extremity successful 69 appearances.

China tied it up successful the 58th infinitesimal with Jin Kun, near unmarked successful the punishment box, hammering location a shot that rebounded disconnected a Canadian defender. It was the archetypal Chinese changeable connected target.

Regan, an AFC Toronto midfielder earning her 5th cap, was successful the starting 11 and became the archetypal Northern Super League subordinate to deterioration Canada colours. The caller six-team league kicks disconnected April 16.

Olivia Smith, Carly Wickenheiser and Samantha Chang came connected to commencement the 2nd half.

It marked a archetypal headdress for the 27-year-old Wickenheiser, the girl of the precocious Doug Wickenheiser, the archetypal wide prime successful the 1980 NHL draught who went connected to play for Montreal, St Louis, Vancouver, the New York Rangers and Washington.

The 24-year-old Chang, a subordinate of the NSL's Vancouver Rise, earned her 2nd elder cap. Ella Ottey, a 19-year-old defender from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, earned her archetypal cap, and Clarissa Larisey followed disconnected the bench.

"This campy is astir making definite that I spot arsenic galore players arsenic possible," said Stoney. "Widening that subordinate excavation is simply a precedence for me."

Stoney, formerly manager of the Manchester United women and astir precocious the NWSL's San Diego Wave, was named Canada manager connected Jan. 13.

"It's evidently a arrogant infinitesimal to pb this country, to pb this team," Stoney said of her debut. "It's a privilege. I was conscionable trying to marque definite I got the words close (for O Canada)."

She succeeds Bev Priestman, who near Canada Soccer aft being sent location arsenic a effect of the drone-spying ungraded astatine past summer's Paris Olympics.

Canada improved to 8-14-6 all-time against China, with 1 of those draws turning into a Canadian punishment shootout win. The Canadians person dominated the rivalry of late, winning the 7 erstwhile meetings.

The Canadian women person not mislaid successful regularisation clip successful 20 matches dating backmost to a 1-0 nonaccomplishment to Brazil successful Montreal successful October 2023. Canada has gone 12-0-8 since past with 3 of the draws turning into punishment shootout losses (two to the U.S. and 1 to Germany) and 1 into a shootout triumph (over Brazil).

Stoney was missing the injured Kadeisha Buchanan (Chelsea), Sydney Collins and Bianca St-Georges (North Carolina Courage), Cloe Lacasse (Utah Royals), Deanne Rose (Leicester City) and Quinn (Vancouver Rise).