Goals and Dreams: A Celebration of Canadian Women's Soccer

Liz Dennett is a public service librarian in the Science and Technology
Library at the University of Alberta.

National team goal coach Shel Brшdsgaard has teamed up with Bob Mackin
to celebrate the successes of the Canadian women’s soccer team during
the 2002–04 seasons. The excitement started with the 2002 FIFA
(Fédération Internationale de Football Association) Under-19 Women’s
World Championships in Edmonton. Canada made it all the way to the
finals and only lost the gold medal in overtime to the Americans. The
tournament witnessed the emergence of new stars for the Canadian team
such as Christine Sinclair, Kara Lang, and goalkeeper Erin McLeod. These
three then joined Charmaine Hooper, Christine Latham, and the rest of
the senior national team and qualified for the 2003 Women’s World Cup,
which was held in the United States. The team’s eventual fourth-place
finish ranked as the single biggest achievement of any Canadian soccer
team ever. The book concludes with the 2004 FIFA Under-19 Women’s
World Championship, where that team also made it to the quarter finals,
thanks in part to its new star, Brittany Timko.

The book alternates between exciting summaries of these tournaments and
profiles of some of the coaches and star players. The profiles detail
the players’ start in soccer, their sources of motivation, interests
outside of soccer, and highlights of their careers.

There is a real feeling of excitement in the book as the team builds on
its successes to become one of the best teams in the world. Goals and
Dreams will inspire anyone interested in following in the footsteps of
these talented young women.