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Canadian women sprinkle in youth as new Olympic soccer quest begins

Jun 6, 2015; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Canada goalkeeper Erin McLeod (1) celebrates after defeating China 1-0 in a Group A soccer match in the 2015 women's World Cup at Commonwealth Stadium. Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports (Reuters)

HOUSTON, Texas - It’s going to be a different team taking the field than what a lot of fans are used to as Canada’s women’s soccer team looks to get back to the Olympic Games, where they captured the nation’s attention four years ago.

Canada starts its qualifying campaign at BBVA Compass Stadium on Thursday (CBC, 8:30 p.m. Eastern) and will feature a number of unfamiliar faces as the next generation of talent begins to take over the mantle.

“It’s definitely a different vibe,” said goalkeeper Erin McLeod. “What I admire about the young players is that they have the confidence to be a free spirit when they play. I think as you get older you worry about pressure and expectations so they’re bringing that and that helps the entire team.”

Names like Adriana Leon, Jonelle Filigno, Lauren Sesselmann, and Kaylyn Kyle aren’t in the squad, while new names brought in include teenagers Gabrielle Carle and Deanna Rose to go along with Jessie Fleming who was on the World Cup squad last year and is still 17 years old.

A strong veteran presence remains in the group, though, as McLeod is joined by Christine Sinclair, Melissa Tancredi and Diana Matheson.

Having that heart from the 2012 Olympic bronze medal team supplemented by younger players may prove to be an advantage for Canada.

This tournament is a grind. Canada starts against Guyana and, at most, will have two days off between games with just a single day off the norm. Having those fresher legs in camp will mean less recovery time for some of them.

“You can just put them out and have them play a game probably every day and they’d be fine,” joked Matheson, who famously scored the winning goal in London to give Canada the bronze medal over France. “But we know the staff looks to that and looks long-term and plans minutes accordingly so we’ll be prepared.”

Guyana features a number of players from Canada playing for the country of their parentage. Nine Guyanese players are listed as representing Canadian clubs or universities and despite Canada being overwhelming favourites in this, they are taking a measured approach to the encounter.

“I think we’re not focusing on what we should and shouldn’t do and we’re just going to out there,” said McLeod. “There are a lot of goals that we’ve had for our team and our development and our attack. We’re going to go out in every single game, no matter who we’re playing against and we’ll focus on those things.”

McLeod mentioned scoring and that’s where Canada will be looking to answer some questions, as Sinclair is in her latter years in the game. In the group stage, Canada should have plenty of chances to pad the offensive numbers.

After the Guyana match, Canada will take on Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday before wrapping up the group against Guatemala on Tuesday.

Should they do as expected and win the group, they’ll face the runners-up from the group being played in Dallas, likely Costa Rica or Mexico, in the tournament’s semi-finals, for a spot in Rio.