Coach Bev Priestman says she has “unfinished business” with the Olympic champion Canadian women’s soccer team.
And with a newly signed contract to stay on through the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, there is clarity about that mission.
The 37-year-old Priestman, who took over the Canadian women on Nov. 1, 2020, was initially appointed “through the next quadrennial” and had been working on a rolling contract that had no term end-date. Now she has a new, defined deal.
“On paper I was always going to be here until 2027. But I think this sends a message to the players, the organization,” she said in an interview.
Priestman sees brighter days ahead for Canada Soccer, which still has to fill the posts of general secretary and men’s coach and finally resolve the ongoing labour dispute with its players.
But she acknowledges it has been a bumpy road at times getting there.
“If I had spoken to you this time last year, it would have been a totally different conversation,” she said.
In recent months, however, she says distractions off the pitch have diminished.
“You look at the back-end of the year, there’s no surprise that things improved on the pitch. Because that’s what I could spend my time focused on. We ended the year with the way I would like to see Canada Soccer continue to move forward, which is investment in the women’s team, great planning off the pitch where I’m not looking (at the) budget left right and centre.”
On the new episode of Player’s Own Voice podcast, coach John Herdman opens up to host Anastasia Bucsis about his regrets surrounding the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Job ‘what it needs to feel like’
She said at the end of the year her feeling was “this is what the job did feel like when I first took over and this is what it needs to feel like moving forward.
“That was a critical piece because I could just focus on what I feel I’m good at. At the beginning of the year, it was nothing like that. If anything, I’m spending my time worrying about things no other head coach in the world is. And like I say there’s a correlation there with how we did on the pitch and what I had to do off it.”
Canada has won five of six since a disappointing showing at last summer’s FIFA World Cup in Australia that saw it exit after the group stage. Priestman’s team, which went 7-5-1 in 2023, has conceded just two goals since the World Cup and recorded three consecutive clean sheets.
It was an encouraging end to a difficult year.
“Some really stressful times off the pitch. And probably things that people aren’t even aware of,” she said. “But at the end of the day, I wanted to commit to the team, to my staff, so we can all put our head down and build.”
Asked whether she had received other job offers, Priestman said “there’s always been whispers or people who want to talk to you.
“What I will say is I never fully went into any interview process. I think I’ve always been transparent with Canada Soccer as well on that. A few things came up but at the end of the day I made my intentions clear, which was to sort this contract out and make it clear for everyone that I’m here to stay.”
‘Shut the door on other things’
Her existing contract had a renegotiation clause, which she chose to activate ahead of this summer’s Paris Olympics “to shut the door on other things.”
“For me and the family, we love Canada, I love this team,” Priestman said. “And I feel like there’s some unfinished business.”
The family is settled on the West Coast.
Her wife, Emma Humphries, is director of women’s football development for the Vancouver Whitecaps and coach of the Canadian women’s under-17 team, which is set to open play Friday at the CONCACAF Women’s U-17 Championship in Toluca, Mexico. Their young son Jack is due to go into his first year of school in September.
Next up for the 10th-ranked Canadian women in the CONCACAF W Gold Cup in February and the SheBelieves Cup in April, both in the United States. Canada opens defence of its Olympic title in late July in France.
Priestman has a 28-9-10 record in 47 matches at Canada’s helm and was a nominee for FIFA Women’s Best Coach in 2021 and 2022. She succeeded Kenneth Heiner-Moller after he returned to his native Denmark.
Priestman spent five years with Canada Soccer in a variety of coaching roles before returning in June 2018 to her native England, where she served as coach of the England’s women’s under-18 side and assistant coach with the senior English women.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic fell 6-4, 6-3 to Poland’s Magdalena Frech in the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open tennis tournament on Friday.
The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., won 61 per cent of her first-serve points and broke on just one of her six opportunities.
Stakusic had upset top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) on Thursday night to advance.
In the opening round, Stakusic defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday.
The fifth-seeded Frech won 62 per cent of her first-serve points and converted on three of her nine break point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s long single with the bases loaded provided the Toronto Blue Jays with a walk-off 4-3 win in the 11th inning of their series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday.
With the Cardinals outfield in, Kirk drove a shot off the base of the left-field wall to give the Blue Jays (70-78) their fourth win in 11 outings and halt the Cardinals’ (74-73) two-game win streak before 30,380 at Rogers Centre.
Kirk enjoyed a two-hit, two-RBI outing.
Erik Swanson (2-2) pitched a perfect 11th inning for the win, while Cardinals reliever Ryan Fernandez (1-5) took the loss.
Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman enjoyed a seven-inning, 104-pitch outing. He surrendered his two runs on nine hits and two walks and fanned only two Cardinals.
He gave way to reliever Genesis Cabrera, who gave up a one-out homer to Thomas Saggese, his first in 2024, that tied the game in the eighth.
The Cardinals started swiftly with four straight singles to open the game. But they exited the first inning with only two runs on an RBI single to centre from Nolan Arendao and a fielder’s choice from Saggese.
Gausman required 28 pitches to escape the first inning but settled down to allow his teammates to snatch the lead in the fourth.
He also deftly pitched out of threats from the visitors in the fifth, sixth and seventh thanks to some solid defence, including Will Wagner’s diving stop, which led to a double play to end the fifth inning.
George Springer led off with a walk and stole second base. He advanced to third on Nathan Lukes’s single and scored when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. knocked in his 95th run with a double off the left-field wall.
Lukes scored on a sacrifice fly to left field from Spencer Horwitz. Guerrero touched home on Kirk’s two-out single to right.
In the ninth, Guerrero made a critical diving catch on an Arenado grounder to throw out the Cardinals’ infielder, with reliever Tommy Nance covering first. The defensive gem ended the inning with a runner on second base.
St. Louis starter Erick Fedde faced the minimum night batters in the first three innings thanks to a pair of double plays. He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
ON DECK
Toronto ace Jose Berrios (15-9) will start the second of the three-game series on Saturday. He has a six-game win streak.
The Cardinals will counter with righty Kyle Gibson (8-6).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps have loaned midfielder Jay Herdman to Cavalry FC of the Canadian Premier League and rewarded two Whitecaps FC 2 players with MLS contracts.
Midfielder Jeevan Badwal signed as a homegrown player through 2027, with options for 2028 and 2029, while forward Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau signed an MLS contract through 2025, with club options for 2026 and 2027.
Both have been playing for the Whitecaps’ MLS Next Pro team along with the 20-year-old Herdman, the son of Toronto FC coach John Herdman.
The moves were made before Friday’s MLS and CPL roster freeze.
Born in New Zealand while his father was working for the New Zealand Football Federation, Jay Herdman was also part of the New Zealand soccer team at the Paris Olympics with three appearances including two starts. Herdman’s loan deal runs through the end of the CPL season.
“Jay is an important signing for us, who will provide another attacking option for the run-in,” Cavalry coach and GM Tommy Wheeldon Jr. said in a statement. “He’s a player that we’ve been tracking since we played against Whitecaps in pre-season and he has very good quality, with terrific energy and the ability to contribute to goals.
“With the recent injury to Mael Henry, Jay’s positional profile and age helps us with on-field options and minutes that count towards the league’s required 2,000 U-21 domestic minutes during the regular season.”
Badwal, an 18-year-old from suburban Surrey, is the 26th academy player to sign an MLS contract with the Whitecaps.
“Having joined our academy in 2019, Jeevan continues to progress through our club and takes every challenge in stride,” Whitecaps FC sporting director Axel Schuster said in a statement. “He is comfortable on the ball, positionally sound, and does the simple things very well. We are excited for Jeevan to make the next step in his young career.”
Badwal has made 19 appearances with Whitecaps 2 this season, scoring two goals and adding three assists. A Canadian youth international, he started all three matches for Canada at the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup
Badwal made his first-team debut off the bench in the first leg of the Canadian Championship semifinal against Pacific FC.
Chateau was originally selected 74th overall by the Whitecaps in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft after spending two years at St. John’s University.
The 22-year-old from Ottawa signed an MLS NEXT Pro contract with Whitecaps FC 2 in March. He leads Whitecaps FC 2 in goal-scoring this season with eight goals across 21 appearances (including eight starts).
“Nicolas leads MLS NEXT Pro in shots on target, has a very strong work rate and willpower. We are looking forward to seeing his growth as he builds on his young professional career,” said Schuster.
Chateau made his first-team debut as a second-half substitute at CF Montreal on July 6.
Herdman, who joined the Whitecaps academy as a 13-year-old, has made 19 appearances for Whitecaps FC 2 in 2024, scoring six goals and adding three assists. He made his MLS debut in April as a second-half substitute in a 2-0 victory at the Seattle Sounders.
Internationally, Herdman has represented New Zealand 29 times across the U-19, U-20, and U-23 sides. He was part of New Zealand’s squad at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup, starting three matches at the tournament and scoring against Uzbekistan.
The Whitecaps host San Jose on Saturday while Cavalry entertains Atletico Ottawa on Sunday.
—
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024
