WNT In Action for first time since Olympic Qualifiers
Field Hockey Canada is thrilled to announce the Women’s National Team roster that will represent Canada at the 2024 FIH Nations Cup in Terrassa, Spain. This is the second iteration of the FIH Nations Cup, with the first one taking place in 2022. Canada is attending the Women’s tournament for the first time.
The last time the Women’s National Team was in action was also in Spain, in Valencia, at January’s Olympic Qualifiers. Since then, they have been training and in selection camps in Vancouver, BC.
The Women’s National Team in a May training camp. Photos/Blair Shier
The big news in the Women’s National Team program is the recent signing of Sheldon Rostron as the new Head Coach of the Women’s National Team. Rostron’s experience includes working alongside Field Hockey Canada’s own Patrick Tshutshani and former Canadian Women’s National Team Head Coach, Giles Bonnet. The Nations Cup will mark Rostron’s debut behind the Wolf Pack bench.
The Canadian Women’s National Team will depart Vancouver May 25th enroute to Scotland, UK for a preparation series prior to the Nations Cup. The team will then travel to Terrassa for the tournament. Canada takes on Japan to open the tournament on June 3, then follows it up with matches against Pan Am rival, Chile before rounding out pool play against New Zealand. The top two finishers in each pool will play in the semifinals.
The roster was selected from a selection camp held in May in Vancouver. It returns some familiar names from their Olympic qualifying effort in January. Among them are program veterans Karli Johansen, Kat Leahy, Elise Wong and the goalkeeping duo of Rowan Harris and Marcia LaPlante.
The team is also featuring some new faces for the trip. Nicole Poulakis and Libby Hogg are making the transition from Juniors to Seniors and will take part in the Scotland tour before being Alternates for the Nations Cup. Julia Ross, Brooke McCusker and Nora Goddard Despot, named to the 18-player Nations Cup roster, will be playing in their first senior international match during this tour.
TEAM CANADA ROSTER
| FIRST NAME | LAST NAME | POSITION | HOMETOWN | CAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lexi | de Armond | FWD | Victoria, BC | 41 |
| Grace | Delmotte | MID | North Vancouver, BC | 15 |
| Kenzie | Girgis | MID | Ottawa, ON | 12 |
| Nora | Goddard-Despot | MID | North Vancouver, BC | 0 |
| Sara | Goodman | DEF | Duncan, BC | 41 |
| Rowan | Harris | GK | Ottawa, ON | 70 |
| Danielle | Husar | FWD | Mississauga, ON | 5 |
| Karli | Johansen | DEF | North Vancouver, BC | 174 |
| Marcia | LaPlante | GK | Wassis, NB | 8 |
| Kathleen | Leahy | DEF | Victoria, BC | 88 |
| Brooke | McCusker | DEF | North Vancouver, BC | 0 |
| Anna | Mollenhauer | DEF | Victoria, BC | 49 |
| Thora | Rae | FWD | Vancouver, BC | 29 |
| Julia | Ross | FWD | Vancouver, BC | 0 |
| Audrey | Sawers | MID | North Vancouver, BC | 30 |
| Mikayla | Stelling | FWD | Vancouver, BC | 1 |
| Chloe | Walton | FWD | North Vancouver, BC | 18 |
| Elise | Wong | DEF | Lake Forest, Il | 44 |
| Nicole | Poulakis** | MID | Toronto, ON | 0 |
| Libby | Hogg** | DEF | Victoria, BC | 0 |
| STAFF | ROLE | |||
| Sheldon Rostron | Head Coach | |||
| Niels Bakker | Assistant Coach | |||
| Carrie Trumpy | Team Manager | |||
| Kate Perry | Sports Science | |||
| Philip Hammill | Video Analyst | |||
** Scotland Only
