Pair of Manitobans make Olympic soccer team

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/06/2012 (5195 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Desiree Scott has had her ticket to the 2012 Olympics in London officially punched.

Scott, a midfielder and a product of the University of Manitoba, will wear Canada’s colours for our powerhouse women’s soccer team that will compete at the Olympics. The announcement of the 18-player team was made Monday morning by Canada Soccer.

She has appeared in 43 games for Canada internationally. She turns 25 next month – on the day Canada meets Sweden at the Olympics.

Said Scott through her Twitter account @MsDScott11:

“It’s OFFICIAL all I need is a whistle! Your’s truly has been selected to the final roster to go to LONDON!!!! AN Absolute dream come true!”“Thank you for everyone showing their love and supportin me! please continue to do so as we go for GOLD! #honoured #blessed #CanWNT”

Canadian head coach John Herdman raved about Scott and what she brings to the pitch and the squad.

“Des has really shown over the last eight months honesty and integrity in her performance,” said Herdman in a conference call with the national media. “She’s got a quality and assuredness and she’s known as one of those go-to players that Canada can really rely on. Over the years the team has potentially struggled in those big moments where you really hope players go and look for the ball or go and get on the ball when things start getting ugly. I think Des is starting to become that.

“She’s shown real technical competency, but her real skill set is her ability to read danger, read situations. And then in the set balls she’s like a female (Claude) Makelele (of France), a midfield player that senses danger and is able to snuff it out. And then when she gets the ball she’ll launch counter attacks and keep things simple for us.”

Another athlete with Manitoba connections is also on the team. Chelsea Stewart, who is listed as from The Pas, is a defender who plays at UCLA and has 32 international caps for Canada. She grew up in Denver, Colorado but her dad’s family is from The Pas.

Canada is in Group F at the Olympics along with Japan, Sweden and South Africa and opens the tournament against Japan on July 25.