The Canadian Women’s Field Hockey Team has named its roster for the upcoming four-game test series against the Irish Women’s National Team, which will be held in Toronto, Ontario from May 23rd-27th, 2015.
Twenty athletes will be travelling to the new Pan-Am/Para Pan-Am Fields at the University of Toronto, the site of field hockey for this summer’s Pan American Games.
Among those named to the team are a handful of athletes from Ontario including team captain Kate Gillis (Kingston, ON), sisters Brienne and Tegan Stairs (Kitchener, ON), and midfielder Amanda Woodcroft (Waterloo, ON).
Additionally, three athletes – Alex Thicke (Vancouver, BC), Woodcroft, and Kaelan Watson (Richmond, BC) – represented the University of Toronto Varsity Blues during their Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) careers.
In addition to being an opportunity to test out the Pan American Games venue, the team will be using the Ireland series as preparation to compete in the World League Semifinals – a 2016 Olympic qualifier – in Valencia, Spain from June 10th-21st.
Eighteen athletes will be named to the touring roster that will represent Canada in Spain. The top three of that tournament earn a spot to the 2016 Olympic Summer Games in Rio de Janerio, Brazil.
The Toronto Series with Ireland consists of four matches to be played May 23rd and 24th (3:00pm), and May 26th and 27th (6:00pm). A team of Canadian officials consisting Denise Pelletier, Megan Robertson, Ozias D’Souza, Trevor Martin, and Wendy Stewart will be overseeing the tournament.
Schedules, news, and results can be found here.
Women’s National Team Touring Roster – May 2015 Ireland Series
Name |
Position |
Hometown |
Senior Caps |
Abigail Raye |
Defender |
Kelowna, BC |
124 |
Alex Thicke |
Midfielder |
Vancouver, BC |
8 |
Amanda Woodcroft |
Midfielder |
Waterloo, ON |
20 |
Beckett Frisch |
Goalkeeper |
Calgary, AB |
3 |
Brienne Stairs |
Forward |
Kitchener, ON |
69 |
Danielle Hennig (VC)* |
Defender |
Kelowna, BC |
88 |
Hannah Haughn |
Forward |
North Vancouver, BC |
83 |
Kaelan Watson |
Forward |
Richmond, BC |
31 |
Kaitlyn Williams |
Goalkeeper |
White Rock, BC |
56 |
Karli Johansen |
Defender |
North Vancouver, BC |
37 |
Kate Gillis (C)** |
Midfielder |
Kingston, ON |
124 |
Maddie Secco |
Midfielder |
Victoria, BC |
51 |
Natalie Sourisseau |
Midfielder |
Kelowna, BC |
67 |
Priya Randhawa |
Forward |
Surrey, BC |
3 |
Rosie Beale |
Defender |
Victoria, BC |
7 |
Sara McManus |
Defender |
Tsawwassen, BC |
77 |
Shanlee Johnston |
Defender |
Vancouver, BC |
20 |
Stephanie Norlander |
Forward |
North Vancouver, BC |
17 |
Tegan Stairs |
Forward |
Kitchener, ON |
16 |
Thea Culley (VC)* |
Forward |
Rossland, BC |
127 |
*Vice-Captain
**Captain
Women’s National Team Touring Staff – May 2015 Ireland Series
Head Coach – Ian Rutledge
Assistant Coach – Stephanie Andrews
Team Manager – Diane Gillis
Video Analyst – Stefanie Sloboda
Athletic Therapist – Michelle Meckling
High Performance Manager – Lisa Northrup
Officials – May 2015 Ireland Series
Technical Director(s) – Ozias D’Souza, Trevor Martin
Umpire(s) – Denise Pelletier, Megan Robertson
Umpire(s) Manager – Wendy Stewart