2011SU Update: CAN Announces Women’s Soccer Coaching Staff

Ottawa – Canadian Interuniversity Sport announced the coaching staff that will lead Canada in women’s soccer at the 26th Summer Universiade from August 12th to 23rd, 2011, in Shenzhen, China.

For the second straight FISU Games, Graham Roxburgh from Trinity Western University has been appointed Team Canada head coach while Concordia University’s Jorge Sanchez will serve as team leader. They will be accompanied this time around by assistant coach Eva Havaris from the University of Toronto.

Roxburgh and Sanchez guided the Red & White to a seventh-place finish in 2009 in Belgrade, Serbia, the country’s third best result in six all-time appearances at the competition.

Women’s soccer made its Universiade debut as a demonstration sport at the 1993 Buffalo Games – when the women’s soccer tournament was held in Hamilton – and became an official discipline in 2001 in Beijing. Canada placed fifth out of six teams in 1993, 11th (out of 12) in 2001, 10th (out of 11) in South Korea in 2003, fifth (out of 12) in Turkey in 2005 and 10th (out of 16) in Thailand in 2007.

The Canadian roster, comprised entirely of CIS standouts, will be announced in the spring of 2011.

“The experience I had representing Canada at the Games in Serbia was fantastic and I am delighted to have been given the opportunity once again,” said Roxburgh, who is currently on a two-week soccer and humanitarian tour of Paraguay and Argentina with his TWU Spartans. “I hope and believe that some of the success we experienced in putting together the team in 2009 will help the selection process this time round. Lessons learned and the valuable experience will help us build upon these things to hopefully go deeper in the tournament in China.”

“Working with the elite players within CIS is an honour and I am excited to work with Jorge and Eva in forming a team that will best represent Canada and CIS.”

The head coach at Trinity Western since 1998, Roxburgh has built the Langley, B.C.-based program into a perennial national champion since the Spartans joined CIS from the BCCAA in 2001. In nine CIS seasons, his troops have claimed three Canada West titles (2004, 2006, 2009) and as many national crowns including the last two (2004, 2008, 2009). In addition to the Belgrade Universiade, his international experience includes taking women’s and men’s teams on tours in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America over the past 13 years.

Havaris began her coaching career as an assistant coach at Western Ontario in 2004 before taking on head coaching duties the following season at Fanshawe College, where she was named 2005 OCAA coach of the year after guiding her team to a provincial title. She joined the UofT as an assistant in 2007 and took over as head coach in 2008, leading the Varsity Blues to fifth place at the CIS championship last fall in her second campaign at the helm. During her playing career at Western, Havaris was a two-time OUA MVP, two-time first-team all-Canadian, CIS player of the year in 2003, and represented Canada at the 2005 Universiade in Turkey.

Sanchez has been the sideline boss at Concordia since 2002 and has served as president of the CIS women’s soccer coaches association since 2005. Prior to joining the Stingers, he was a Quebec provincial team head coach for five years (1997-2001), had two stints as an assistant coach at the National Training Centre (1996-1998, 2000-2001) and participated at four national championships as an elite-level club coach (1992, 1993, 1996, 1997).

(Source: Michel Belanger, CIS Media Officer)

CANADA’S WOMEN’S SOCCER COACHING STAFF 2011 UNIVERSIADE

Head coach: Graham Roxburgh, Trinity Western University

Assistant coach: Eva Havaris, University of Toronto

Team leader: Jorge Sanchez, Concordia University

CANADA’S WOMEN’S SOCCER RESULTS AT THE UNIVERSIADE

2009 (Belgrade, Serbia): 7th/16 teams

2007 (Bangkok, Thailand): 10th/16

2005 (Izmir, Turkey): 5th/12

2003 (Daegu, South Korea): 10th/11

2001 (Beijing, China): 11th/12

1993 (Buffalo, USA): 5th/6