University of Tennessee Athletics
SOCCER'S RHIAN WILKINSON SELECTED TO CANADIAN WORLD CUP TEAM
September 08, 2003 | Soccer
Sept. 8, 2003
OTTAWA, Ontario
Lady Vol senior forward Rhian Wilkinson (Baie d'Urfe, Quebec) was named to the 20-player roster announced today by Canadian Women's World Cup Team Head Coach Even Pellerud for the upcoming 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup to be held between Sept. 20-Oct. 12 at six different venues throughout the United States. Wilkinson recently brought home a silver medal from the Pan Am Games in Santo Domingo, where her contingent dropped the gold-medal match to Brazil, 2-1, in overtime. After training with the National Team throughout the summer and scoring a goal in a friendly versus the Mexican National Team on Sept. 4, the striker made her Tennessee debut this past weekend on the squad's road trip to Brigham Young and UNLV and tallied a goal and an assist in the triumph over the Rebels.
"This is a terrific achievement for Rhian and our program," said Lady Vol Head Coach Angela Kelly. "Considering that her first National Team training camp was five months ago and her first international cap was in April versus the U.S. National Team, she has obviously done very well to make an impression with the Canadian coaching staff. We are all proud of her and wish Canada the best of luck."
In receiving first-team All-SEC honors for the initial time in '02, the sharp-shooter led the conference with a school-record 15 assists and netted eight goals for 31 points to place fourth in the SEC scoring race. Chosen first-team All-Central Region by Soccer Buzz and as a second-team honoree by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), Wilkinson aims to depart Rocky Top as the program's all-time scoring leader, a perch well within her grasp.
Silvana Burtini, Charmaine Hooper and Andrea Neil have been selected to their third consecutive World Cup, while Karina LeBlanc, Isabelle Morneau and Sharolta Nonen are the only other players who have World Cup experience, having played in 1999 in the United States.
There are six players from the Under-19 team which won a silver medal at the FIFA Women's World Championships in 2002: Sasha Andrews, Kara Lang, Erin McLeod, Carmelina Moscato, Christine Sinclair and Brittany Timko.
Others include 18-year-old Tanya Dennis, who impressed in earning her first two caps against Mexico last week; WUSA defenders Breanna Boyd and Sharolta Nonen (who was named to the WUSA First Team), Randee Hermus and Kristina Kiss, who play for Floya in Norway, 19-year-old Diana Matheson, who earned her first cap earlier this year, goalkeeper Taryn Swiatek, who played for Canada at the Pan Am Games and University of Tennessee standout Wilkinson, who made her debut against the United States in April.
"We have a strong roster with a good balance of youth and experience," said Pellerud. "We have also a good mixture of speed, skill and leadership. It's a very flexible and versatile roster which can be changed to play certain formations. We are ready to play the way that is needed depending on the opponent. It's a team with an excellent fitness level and a healthy level of confidence."
The squad will assemble in Kingston, Ontario, on Thursday, Sept. 11 and will play their final preparation game on Sunday, Sept. 14 at Richardson Stadium in Kingston at 2 p.m. The team will then travel to Columbus, Ohio, on Sept. 16 and will train there for four days before playing their opening game of Group C against Germany on Sept. 20 at Crew Stadium at 5:45 p.m. Canada faces Argentina at 8:30 p.m. in Columbus on Sept. 27 and wraps up the first round against Japan at 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 27 in Foxboro, Mass.
The Canadians are coming off two consecutive victories over Mexico (by a combined 14-0) and have not lost in nine games, dating back to a last-minute friendly against the United States on April 26. Since then they have won eight games (two-game series sweeps over Mexico - twice, England and Brazil) and drawn once (1-1 against Ghana on August 16).
Canada has played six World Cup games, losing four and drawing twice.
Canada's Schedule
Canada vs. Australia Sunday, Sept. 14, 2003 - 2:00 p.m. Richardson Stadium, Kingston, Ontario
Canada vs. Germany Saturday, Sept. 20 - 5:45 p.m. Crew Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Canada vs. Argentina Wednesday, Sept. 24 - 8:30 p.m. Crew Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Canada vs. Japan Saturday, Sept. 27 - 3:30 p.m. Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, Mass.
Quarterfinals: Oct. 2, 2003 - TBA PGE Park, Portland, Ore.
Semifinal: Oct. 5, 2003 - TBA PGE Park, Portland, Ore.
Third-place: Oct. 11, 2003 - 12:30 p.m. Home Depot Centre, Carson, Calif.
Final: Oct. 12, 2003 - 10:00 a.m. Home Depot Centre, Carson, Calif.
Canadian Women's World Cup Team Roster
| Name | Pos. | Hometown | D.O.B. | Caps | G/S* | Club |
| Sasha Andrews | D | Edmonton, AB | 14/2/83 | 18 | 2 | Vancouver Whitecaps/U. of Nebraska |
| Breanna Boyd | D | Edmonton, AB | 10/6/81 | 43 | 2 | Carolina Courage |
| Silvana Burtini | D/F | Williams Lake, BC | 10/5/69 | 73 | 38 | Unattached |
| Tanya Dennis | D | Brampton, ON | 8/26/85 | 2 | 0 | University of Nebraska |
| Randee Hermus | D | Langley, BC | 14/11/79 | 44 | 4 | Floya (Norwegian Premier) |
| Charmaine Hooper | D/F | Ottawa, ON | 15/1/68 | 100 | 57 | Atlanta Beat |
| Kristina Kiss | M | Ottawa, ON | 13/2/81 | 43 | 5 | Floya (Norwegian Premier) |
| Kara Lang | F | Oakville, ON | 22/10/86 | 29 | 19 | Vancouver Whitecaps |
| Christine Latham | F | Calgary, AB | 15/9/81 | 28 | 9 | San Diego Spirit |
| Karina LeBlanc | GK | Maple Ridge, BC | 30/3/80 | 33 | 12 | Boston Breakers |
| Diana Matheson | M | Oakville, ON | 6/4/84 | 12 | 1 | Toronto Inferno |
| Erin McLeod | GK | Calgary, AB | 26/2/83 | 12 | 3 | Vancouver Whitecaps/SMU |
| Isabelle Morneau | D | Greenfield Park, QC | 18/4/76 | 57 | 6 | Ottawa Fury |
| Carmelina Moscato | M | Mississauga, ON | 2/5/84 | 14 | 1 | Vancouver Whitecaps |
| Andrea Neil | M | Vancouver, BC | 26/10/71 | 86 | 18 | Vancouver Whitecaps |
| Sharolta Nonen | D | Vancouver, BC | 30/12/77 | 44 | 1 | Atlanta Beat |
| Christine Sinclair | F | Burnaby, BC | 12/6/83 | 50 | 39 | Vancouver Whitecaps/U. of Portland |
| Taryn Swiatek | GK | Calgary, AB | 4/2/81 | 5 | 2 | Ottawa Fury |
| Brittany Timko | M | Coquitlam, BC | 5/9/85 | 21 | 0 | Vancouver Whitecaps/U. of Nebraska |
| Rhian Wilkinson | M/F | Baie D'Urfe, QC | 12/5/82 | 5 | 2 | Ottawa Fury/U. of Tennessee |
*Goals/Shutouts
