Part of 24-player roster for four-nation tournament

CHICAGO, Ill. – A trio of Chicago Red Stars players have been called up to the Canadian Women’s National Team by Head Coach John Herdman. Legendary goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc and strikers Adriana Leon and Melissa Tancredi will all be part of the upcoming tournament in China that will feature the host nation as well as Korea Republic and Mexico.

In sending three of its stars to participate in the event, Chicago is the top contributor to this Canucks squad of all the clubs in the NWSL and elsewhere. A total of 24 players have been invited for the four-nation tournament, as Herdman looks to whittle down his pool en route to finalizing the roster for this summer’s Women’s World Cup in Canada.

The team opens competition on Sunday, January 11, against Korea Republic, followed by their second game against CONCACAF rivals Mexico on Tuesday, January 13. However, the January 15 meeting with China is widely considered the most interesting of the three encounters, with the two sides set to face each other again in Edmonton, Alberta, as part of the World Cup group stage.

All three matches of the four-nation tournament will be played at the Shenzhen Stadium in the city of Shenzhen.

“We’ve been thinking about this for the last few weeks in how to approach that particular fixture and we’ve got some ideas on either going to try and go for a confidence booster or try to keep our cards up our sleeve,” Herdman offered. “We may try to go for a balance of those when choosing our lineup and the tactics we use.”

Red Stars fans can watch all their national team members in action over the course of the 2015 NWSL campaign. Season tickets start at $145 and may be purchased by calling 773-697-8699 or by clicking here.

CANADA WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER

GK- Erin McLeod | USA / Houston Dash
GK- Stephanie Labbe | SWE / KIF Örebro
GK- Karina LeBlanc | USA / Chicago Red Stars
D- Kadeisha Buchanan | USA / West Virginia University
D- Allysha Chapman | SWE / Eskilstuna United DFF
D- Carmelina Moscato | USA / Seattle Reign FC
D- Marie-Eve Nault | SWE / KIF Örebro
D- Rebecca Quinn | USA / Duke University
D- Rhian Wilkinson | CAN / Comètes de Laval
D- Sura Yekka | CAN / Brams United
D- Emily Zurrer | SWE / Jitex BK
M- Jessie Fleming | CAN / London NorWest United
M- Kaylyn Kyle | USA / Houston Dash
M- Ashley Lawrence | USA / West Virginia University
M- Sophie Schmidt | USA / Sky Blue FC
M- Desiree Scott | ENG / Notts County
F- Janine Beckie | USA / Texas Tech University
F- Josee Bélanger | CAN / Comètes de Laval
F- Nkem Ezurike | USA / Boston Breakers
F- Jonelle Filigno | USA / Sky Blue FC
F- Adriana Leon | USA / Chicago Red Stars
F- Christine Sinclair | USA / Portland Thorns
F- Melissa Tancredi | USA / Chicago Red Stars