Everton F.C. Ladies Ontario Tour Kicks Off June 29th

June 29th – July 4th, 2006 VAUGHAN, Thursday, June 15, 2006 -- The Ontario Soccer Association is pleased to announce a series of Exhibition Games between Everton F.C. Ladies from England, Runners-Up in the FA Nationwide Women’s Premier League with a record of 14-2-2, and several top-ranked Ontario clubs as well as the Under 16 Ontario Provincial Team. "We are delighted that this inaugural trip can take place,” says Everton CEO, Keith Wyness. “It is all part of the Play Soccer initiative that The OSA in partnership with Everton launched last year. Everton Football Club appreciates the opportunity to show the Blues colours overseas and to generate interest in our club.” "We are looking forward to hosting the Everton F.C. Ladies in Ontario for the series,” says Ontario Soccer Association Executive Director, Guy Bradbury. “Together with the Play Soccer initiative, our continuing high-level exchanges with Everton F.C. are intended to increase interest in the game, promote participation and facilitate soccer excellence in Ontario and Canada." Everton F.C. Ladies The Everton Ladies ground-breaking tour to Canada is the first time such a pre-season tour has taken place and the Blues will be based in Toronto for the majority of the trip, playing games against four leading local sides. The first match will see the Blues play the talented and highly regarded Ontario U-16 All-Stars that competed as a development squad for Canada's U-17 team. The U-16s are the number one ranked age group team in Canada and have a number of players on the Canada U-17 roster. This is an important game for the players as they start the talent identification camp the next day at the National Training Centre Ontario (NTCO) in Vaughan. The second match of the four-game series will see the Blues play the Oakville Storm on Friday June 30 before playing Woodbridge Azzurri on July 2. The next game sees Everton travel to the nation’s capital to play the Ottawa Fury on July 4. Featured Everton Players Fara Williams Fara joined Everton from Charlton ahead of the 2004/5 season. She arrived at the club from London side Charlton Athletic and quickly became an integral cog in the Everton midfield. Fara has a tremendous technical ability and has settled in well to establish herself as one of the most consistent performers in the country. She is one of the first names on the teamsheet for England as well as Everton and has the ability to turn a game with her passing ability and set piece prowess. Rachel Unitt Rachel joined Everton in the summer of 2003. She is a tough-tackling left back who loves to get forward. Rachel is the long-term regular England left back and has racke dup over 50 caps for her country. Last month, she was awarded with the England International Player of the Year in recognition of her consistent performances for England. Rachel has W-League experience with the New Jersey Wildcats in 2005. She scored in the 3-0 win over the Ottawa Fury that secured the W-League Championship. Both Everton Ladies are key parts of the England squad who currently top their qualifying group ahead of the World Cup in 2007. Ottawa Fury Women The Ottawa Fury Women reached the W-League Championship Final Four in each of the past three years. In 2003 they finished 4th; in 2004, when they hosted the championship, they finished 3rd; and last year, they were beaten by the New Jersey Wildcats in the Championship Final. In 2005, the Fury won the Eastern Conference final, finished the regular season with an identical record to that achieved in 2004 (13-1-0) and were seeded #1 in the Final Four with the best overall regular season record in the entire league. Individually, Rhian Wilkinson won the 2005 W-League award for most points with 38 on the season; Kelly Parker finished a close second with 37 points. Wilkinson also won the league award for most assists on the season. Linda Consolante, Kelly Parker and Diana Matheson were elected to the Eastern All-Conference team with Parker again making the All W-League squad. Goalkeeper Taryn Swiatek led the league in shutouts with eight in fourteen games. Diana Matheson and Rhian Wilkinson were named to the W-League Championship Team. Featured Fury Players (Photos by Hargreaves Photography) Diana Matheson - Midfielder Diana returns for her third season with the Fury. A regular in the Canadian National Team, the 22 year old from Oakville has already amassed 43 caps. In her freshman year at Princeton - she was selected a 2004 All-American and helped Princeton become the first ever Ivy League school to reach the NCAA Final Four. Rhian Wilkinson - Forward Returning for her 4th season with the Fury, Rhian, from Baie d'Urfe, Quebec, has 22 caps for the Canadian National Team. She won the W-League 2005 Scoring Championship with 38 points on 13 goals and 12 assists. She played for Strømmen FK in Norway during the past winter and was 2005 Fury MVP. Taryn Swiatek - Goalkeeper Taryn hails from Calgary and returns for her 5th year with the Fury. Capped 20 times for Canada, Taryn played five consecutive games at the 2003 Women's World Cup backstopping Canada to a fourth place finish. She last played for Canada in February, 2006, against Mexico and she played for Danish club Fortuna Hjorring in 2003-4. The Oakville Storm The Oakville Storm is the top senior women's team of the Oakville Soccer Club, Canada's largest soccer club with just over 10,000 registered players, of which half are female players. The Storm are the defending Ontario Cup Champions as well as Ontario Women's Soccer League (OWSL) champions where they posted an incredible year in 2005, going undefeated in League play. The Storm has represented Ontario at the National Club Championships several times and has been crowned Canadian Champions in 2002. Despite fielding a younger squad this year under newly appointed coach, Jack Meinen, the Storm will prove a great opponent to Everton FC Ladies as most of his players play for US and Canadian Universities on scholarships. The Oakville Soccer Club has developed numerous Provincial and National Team players over the years and is considered a hotbed of women's soccer in Canada. Oakville Mayor, Ann Mulvale, and Ontario Member of Parliament, Kevin Flynn, will be present for the official kick-off in Oakville on June 30th at Pine Glen Park (7:00 pm kick-off). The Ontario U-16 Girls The Ontario U-16 Girls Team will include Lexi Marton, Rita Keikmakh, Tina Romagnuolo and Nicole Campbell, all with international experience playing with Canada’s Under 18 National Team. These players, together with Kelsi Landry, Devon Beach, Jonelle Filigno, Jennifer Wolbert and Monica Maher trained at the National Training Centre Ontario in Vaughan this fall and winter and are in top form. At 15 years of age, Lexi Marton has the added distinction of being the youngest player ever to play for the Toronto Lady Lynx. Team Ontario Roster While the selection for the exhibition game against the Everton Ladies is not final, the potential roster includes: The Woodbridge Azzurri Senior Women The Woodbridge Azzurri Senior Women's program was introduced to the club 4 years ago and the team has gone from the Ontario Women’s Soccer League Multi-Jurisdictional (OWSL - MJ) division to the OWSL Provincial division this year. Over their 4-year career, the team has had a better than 90% winning average in their quest for promotion to the Provincial league. This year's team is comprised of the best players from two clubs; the Rexdale Elites and the Woodbridge Azzurri SC. Since merging, the team is stronger than ever, with a season record of 2-1-1. During the indoor season, the club also participated in the Ontario Futsal League and became the Provincial and National Champions. Featured Azzurri Players Sonia Sousa - Midfielder Latoya Ogunkanmi - Striker Anna Tripodo - Sweeper/Midfielder Tracey Garrison - Midfielder Dorothy Aniuk - Forward/Midfielder. The Team is coached by Cesare Tripodo who has coached women's soccer for the last 10 years. He also assisted the Humber College Men's Varsity Soccer team for the past 6 years on their way to a National Championship. Assistant Coach and Trainer, Fabian Pagani, is a recent addition to the coaching staff and has shown excellent potential in directing the women in their quest for a championship. Woodbridge Azzurri Roster The Series Schedule Everton FC Ladies v Ontario Provincial Team U-16 Girls Thursday, June 29th in Vaughan at the Ontario Soccer Centre -- (Kick Off 7:00 PM) Everton FC Ladies v Oakville Storm Senior Women Friday, June 30th in Oakville at Pine Glen Park -- (Kick Off 7:00 PM) Everton FC Ladies v Woodbridge Azzurri Senior Women Sunday, July 2nd in Vaughan at the Ontario Soccer Centre -- (Kick Off 3:00 PM) Everton FC Ladies v Ottawa Fury Women Tuesday, July 4th in Ottawa at Keith Harris Stadium, Carleton Univ. -- Kick Off 6:30 PM For more information please contact: Wolf Ruck - (905) 264-9390 ext: 272 wruck@soccer.on.ca