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SOCCER MEDIA REPORTS:

USA REPLACES JAPAN AS CANADA'S OPPONENT 25 MAY 12th May

Canada’s next meeting with reigning Olympic champion USA is coming two months sooner than expected. Canada’s women’s national team announced today that it will face the USA in an international friendly match this 25th May at BMO Field in Toronto.

Canada was originally scheduled to face Japan, but the AFC opponent cancelled its May trip to USA and Canada, citing concerns about swine flu. Japan's health ministry confirmed the fourth case of swine flu on Sunday, a day after the country's first three were reported. The ministry said the fourth case is a teenager who recently returned from Canada on a high school trip with the three others. The Japan Football Association announced the decision Tuesday.

“It will be an honour to play the world’s number-one ranked country,” says women’s national head coach Carolina Morace.

Tickets to Canada’s 25 May match at BMO Field are already icirculating, so tickets marked Canada-Japan are in fact now valid for the Canada-USA match. Tickets to the match cost between $15-35 each and can be purchased through Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.ca / 416.872.5000).

“This is a terrific opportunity to bring the world’s number-one ranked team to Canada,” says Canadian Soccer Association General Secretary Peter Montopoli. “By bringing USA’s women’s national team to replace Japan, we are providing our very loyal fans with the best possible match.”

Canada was already scheduled to face USA in a pair of international friendly matches this 19 July (Rochester, NY) and 22 July (Charleston, SC). The 25 May match will be USA’s first visit to Canada in nearly eight years. In all, Canada has hosted USA’s women’s national team four times between 1990 and 2001 (three losses and a draw). In that last match in Toronto on 30 June 2001, then 18-year old Christine Sinclair scored the tying goal of a 2:2 draw roughly a minute after Tiffany Milbrett had given the USA a short-lived lead.

Captain Sinclair, of course, is now in search of her 100th goal, a mark that Milbrett herself reached back in 2006. Sinclair scored her 99th goal at the 2009 Cyprus Women’s Cup last March and now hopes to break the milestone in Toronto. American Abby Wambach is also stuck on 99 goals, so she too will be looking to join an exclusive goal-scoring club. Only eight players in women’s international football history have scored 100 goals, including Canadian coach Carolina Morace (105).

The 25 May Canada-USA match at BMO Field will not only be Morace’s home debut as Canadian coach, but it will also be the first Canada-USA encounter of the year. It is also the first encounter since Canada was eliminated in the quarter-final stage at the 2008 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament in Shanghai, China. Canada pushed USA into extra time, but eventually fell 1:2 to the world’s number-one ranked country. USA went on to win Olympic gold.

Canada, whose title sponsor is Winners and whose presenting sponsor is Teck, has one of the best women’s soccer programs in the world. In 2009, Canada started its season with two wins, one draw and one loss, finishing second at the 2009 Cyprus Women’s Cup in March. Canada’s all-time home record is 26 wins, 5 draws and 16 losses. Canada currently has a six-game unbeaten record (3-3-0) at home.