Canada to field women's Olympic roster for soccer's Algarve Cup
Goalkeeper McLeod lone player excused for March tourney
John Herdman has stuck with the squad that secured Olympic qualification in picking his roster for the Algarve Cup.
The Canadian coach's 21-woman roster for the March 2-9 tournament in Portugal includes 19 of the 20 players who finished runner-up at the recent CONCACAF Women's Olympic Championship in Houston.
The lone player missing is veteran goalkeeper Erin McLeod, who was excused because she just joined FC Rosengard in Sweden.
Kailen Sheridan, 20, replaces McLeod, joining Stephanie Labbe and Sabrina D'Angelo in goal. Forward Summer Clarke, 20, is the other addition.
The youthful newcomers help bring the average age of the Canadian squad down to 24 with 12 players 23 and under.
Canada, ranked 11th in the world, will open Group A play Wednesday against No. 15 Denmark before facing No. 28 Belgium on Friday and No. 19 Iceland on March 7. Canada's final match is March 9.
Group B features No. 7 Brazil, No. 16 New Zealand, No. 22 Russia and No. 40 Portugal.