CANADIAN WOMEN TO FACE NORWAY  14th May, 2010

Canada's women's national team has announced that it will play one-time FIFA Women's World Cup and Olympic champion Norway this 3rd June in Hamar, Norway. The two sides will meet at the Øvre Vang Stadium for a 18.00 local kickoff. Diana Matheson and Rhian's LSK Club has two players in the Norwegian 18 person squad: Lene Storløkken and Marit Sandvei

 Two of the Canadian Women's National Team, Diana Matheson and Rhian Wilkinson play for top Norwegian Club LSK Kvinner. The Club says, "it will be exciting to see them play with their teammates on the national team. We can not wait!"

  
"This will be another important test for us, as Norway is consistently a strong nation," said Canadian national head coach Carolina Morace.
 
This will be the first match between the two sides since the opening match of the FIFA Women's World Cup, held in 2007 in Hangzhou, China. On that day, the Canucks jumped out to a 1-0 lead before Norway fought its way back with a pair of second-half goals to win the match. Norway went on to finish fourth in the championship while Canada finished ninth.
 
Both Norway and Canada are currently ranked in the top-10 nations on the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Rankings. Norway is 7th while Canada is 9th.

Canada will be in Norway from 28 May to 4 June. The Norway camp will be preceded by an 11-day camp in Gaithersburg, MD, USA from 17-27 May. Canada will be training at the Maryland SoccerPlex, but will also play an exhibition match on 23 May against the Washington Freedom of Women's Professional Soccer.

 Freedom goalkeeper Erin McLeod will have to make a choice. She is   the starting goalkeeper for Freedom, but is also a staple player for the Canadian National team.
 
The 27-year-old Vancouver native is a veteran of both professional and international play. Before joining Washington Freedom in 2008, she played for her hometown Vancouver Whitecaps of the W-League with whom she won 2004 and 2006 championships. McLeod has also been an important presence in international play for the Canadian side as she was the starting goalkeeper for the Canadian National team during the 2007 Women's World Cup and 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. She holds an impressive 55 caps with the Canadian national team.
 
Canada is currently preparing for its qualification efforts for the FIFA Women's World Cup Germany 2011. It will take part in the eight-team CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup later this year, with schedule and venues yet to be announced. The top two teams at the CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup will qualify for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2011 in Germany while the third-place team will advance to a November playoff against the fifth-place team from Europe.