So close, but not quite.
In spite of a much improved performance compared to last July, the Canadian women’s national team fell to their 55th all-time defeat against the United States, 1-0, in Columbus on Wednesday night.
Casey Stoney’s CanWNT found themselves beaten by a lone American set-piece, as they searched for their first result against the Americans since 2011 — and potentially even, a first win since March 2001 at the now-defunct Algarve Cup.
“I think there were moments when — I think we were very competitive throughout the game. We had moments in their box where we could’ve had a little more composure, we’re obviously going to have less chances at certain times, so how we can have more composure in those times becomes more important,” Stoney told reporters after the final whistle.
It was perhaps vicious irony, considering how Les Rouges scored their first two goals on Sunday night against Colombia, as Kansas City Current starlet Ally Sentnor ripped a Rose Lavelle corner through three Canadian shirts just before the hour mark.
“[I'm disappointed we conceded from a set-piece because it was one of our objectives this camp not to, and they had a similar moment before in the first half where we could’ve corrected that,” commented Stoney.
GOAL 🇺🇸
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) March 5, 2026
Ally Sentnor makes it 1-0 for the USWNT vs. the CanWNT 🇨🇦, pouncing on a loose ball on a low-driven corner kick
🔴 Watch SheBelieves Cup LIVE on OneSoccer pic.twitter.com/UC0wUXGVxO
Still, Sentnor’s goal aside, Les Rouges were, again, more up to pace on Sunday night, compared to last July’s tough 3-0 defeat.
They were stingy despite the U.S. having 65 per cent possession and 16 shots (four on target) on the night, and while that may not be sustainable long term, the centre-back pairing of Jade Rose and Vanessa Gilles once again got Canada out of several jams they put themselves into, showing resolve.
At the other end of the pitch, Cloé Lacasse, in her first start since Canada’s win over Colombia at the 2024 Paris Olympics, did well to press high and pick up a loose ball in the American half after Nichelle Prince forced U.S. left-back Emily Fox backwards in the eighth minute.
While Lacasse’s second touch wasn’t perfect, it could’ve been a game-changing opener as a sea of white shirts raced back to support goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce.
Simi Awujo, making her first start of the SheBelieves Cup with Jessie Fleming sidelined due to illness, had Canada’s lone shot on target, while the Canadians through Lacasse and Prince, also conspired to force chaos in the American box off a quick counter-attack in the second half.
“It’s a lot to ask [of Lacasse and Prince] when they spend that amount of time without the ball, but defensively they were excellent. [Lacasse] had some dangerous runs, [Prince] nicked the ball and got in behind a couple of times, and they worked extremely hard,” Stoney said.
And yes, we did say, Fleming was sidelined due to illness.
Canada’s smiling assassin was completely absent from the teamsheet on Wednesday — a tough blow, when adding that Awujo was also unwell and forced off after 37 minutes.
“Super proud [of the performance] because we’ve had a very challenging day,” Stoney commented. “We lost our captain [Fleming] before the game, [Awujo] wasn’t well so we tried to get her through 45 (minutes) — she had to come off after 30 — we came into camp without enough depth.”
“It's not excuses, there’s reasons, and I have to be extremely proud for the ‘next one up’ mentality they’ve had. Everything I’ve asked of them, they’ve executed tonight, so huge progress.”
That exit required a shift from a trio in midfield to a double-pivot, something that didn’t seem to hinder Marie-Yasmine Alidou who was forced into deep midfield alongside Julia Grosso as the University of Notre Dame’s Annabelle Chukwu entered in the number 10 role.
Stoney explained after the match, “[Lavelle] was causing all sorts of problems, so we needed to be able to contain [her]. I thought the midfield [were disciplined], considering I’m not sure [Alidou]’s played in a [number six role] too much but I thought she was excellent in there.”
“I actually said it to her and she told me ‘not to get too many ideas’ but it’s something we can use in the future,” Stoney quipped.
As has been the theme so far this camp, Stoney’s making the most of a difficult injury situation to experiment with new players in the lineup. It was DB Pridham and Brooklyn Courtnall on Sunday, Chukwu on Wednesday, and before we get ahead of ourselves — could AFC Toronto’s Kaylee Hunter be next against Argentina on Saturday?
Time will tell.
