ANALYSIS – Cloé Lacasse shines in the 6-0 win over El Salvador in the Concacaf W Gold Cup. This win is important as it puts them closer to advancing to knockout stages of the competition.
Cloé Lacasse Shines in Dominant CanWNT Win
Full Game Summary:
Cloé Lacasse played very well today.#LaSelectaFemenina did not trouble goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo.
Yellow cards are something the #CanWNT could look to reduce for future games.#CANvSLV | 6-0 | #WGoldCup
— Raheem (@bashirra) February 23, 2024
Cloé Lacasse’s Impact
Lacasse with the fastest goal of the W Gold Cup so far! 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/6IMY8kz3dt
— W Gold Cup (@GoldCup) February 23, 2024
Lacasse scored the fastest goal in the Concacaf W Gold Cup. It was a fantastic individual play. Yes, El Salvador probably should have done better, but it does not take away that Lacasse can create scoring chances for herself.
She also showed an unselfishness in this game that led to other players scoring. This included Olivia Smith scoring her first-ever goal as well as goals scored by Adriana Leon and Jordyn Huitema. She also delivered another ball into the box, but O. Smith was unable to convert it.
Yellow Cards Need to Be Avoided
Yellow cards are part of the game, however, it felt that Canada was a bit too reckless, especially to start the game as Shelina Zadorsky, Jordyn Huitema, and Gabrielle Carle all got yellow cards. Accumulating yellow cards might mean missing out on other important games. It is important to note though that this rule does not apply to the semi-finals and finals of the Concacaf W Gold Cup, which can be seen in the link just above.
That can be a big problem, this is especially true if it means facing a tougher opponent in the group stage and the knockout stage. It would be a shame if a player is unable to represent Canada because of yellow card accumulation, which might affect how Beverly Priestman approaches the game against Paraguay.
El Salvador Did Not Challenge Sabrina D’Angelo
El Salvador, as expected, hardly got any scoring chances. The few they had included:
- Brenda Ceren had two shots on goal, with the first one being the most threatening.
- Samantha Fisher had the other shot on target.
However, these shots would go straight to Canadian goalkeeper, Sabrina D’Angelo. The only time it looked like they could score was Ceren’s first shot on goal, but she was unable to get a good strike to trouble D’Angelo.
The Canadian defence got better as the game went along as they became sharper and more aware of danger against El Salvador. Yes, the difference in class was evident in Thursday’s game, but you can only play the teams that are in front of you and Canada did just that.
Other Factors
READ MORE: The CanWNT Concacaf W Gold Cup Roster Revealed
The CanWNT had 13 shots on goal. There were many players with big games. Leon for example scored two goals. The one on everyone’s mind though is probably O. Smith. It looked like from the start, she wanted to either score or create scoring opportunities for her teammates. She did that in helping Kadeisha Buchanan scoring a goal as well as scoring her first-ever goal for the national team late in the game.
Bev Priestman said she doesn't know yet about the severity or exact nature of Nichelle Prince's injury that saw her leave the match
"Obviously it seemed to be her calf that pulled up. But haven’t had a medical update yet. I’m hoping it’s not too serious and more precautionary."
— Meaghen Johnson (@MeaghenJohnson) February 23, 2024
The unfortunate factor though is that Nichelle Prince got injured in the first half and was replaced by Deanne Rose. Hopefully it is nothing too serious and wish her a fast and speedy recovery with the national team.
Jessie Fleming Captains Canada
READ MORE: CanWNT Predicted Lineup Against El Salvador to Start Competition
Fleming was named Canada’s captain before the start of this game. This is what Beverly Priestman had to say about it (source: Canada Soccer):
“When choosing the captain of this team, we felt it was important to choose someone who embodied the values of this team,” said Beverly Priestman, Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team Head Coach. “We have a team that is incredibly hard working, has high standards, humility and respect and we wanted a captain that could really lead this team across those values. Jessie doesn’t need to change, she leads by example, she’s humble and she’s a big team player which is exactly what this team needs.”
READ MORE: The 2021 CanWNT Year Review – The Best Year Ever
Thursday was Fleming’s first-ever game as captain. It will hopefully be the firsts of many more as she looks to take this team to another level. Fleming has been an instrumental part of this national team, as she played a critical part with Canada winning Gold in Tokyo 2020.
Games Coming Up for Both Teams
86’ Olivia Smith’s goal was originally called offside but was overturned as she scored her first-ever goal for the national team! #OneSoccer#CANvSLV | 6-0 | #WGoldCup pic.twitter.com/IbN54YZlX4
— Raheem (@bashirra) February 23, 2024
READ MORE: CanWNT Gets Ready to Play in Inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup
This is what Beverly Priestman said with the win against El Salvador (source: The Canadian Press):
“For me, you walk off frustrated and you actually need to enjoy winning more,” Canada coach Bev Priestman said with a wry smile. “Because I think we have another level in us and I need to be patient with that in terms of growing though the tournament — late arrivals and just getting some rhythm and things,” Priestman said. “But to get a clean sheet and have goals come across many scorers — I think five — we’ve got to be happy.”
In the other game of Group C, Costa Rica lost to Paraguay 1-0 thanks to a goal scored by Lice Chamarro. All four teams meet each other on Sunday. El Salvador and Costa Rica will both look to bounce back as they face each other at 8:00 PM ET.
This is while Canada will face Paraguay at 5:00 PM ET as both teams look to remain undefeated in the competition. The games will be shown live on OneSoccer as well as FuboTV Inc. and Telus. All games of the group stage will be shown live in Houston at Shell Energy Stadium.
Photo Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports, of a Cloé Lacasse Headshot and a Danielle Fuentes Headshot, on February 22, 2024.
