Ashley Lawrence recalled by Canada for June friendly

Ashley Lawrence is back in the fold for the Canadian women’s team following a six-month absence. 

Coach Casey Stoney on Wednesday revealed her 26-player roster for Canada’s upcoming friendly vs. Costa Rica, and included in her squad list is Lawrence, a veteran fullback who was a key member of the gold medal-winning team at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. 

Canada will face Costa Rica in an international friendly on June 9 at Estadio Rafael “Fello” Meza in Cartago. Prior to that match, the Canadians will travel to San José, Costa Rica for a training camp that kicks off on May 31.  

Lawrence, 30, was left off Canada’s roster for the SheBelieves Cup in March in the United States before being recalled for the inaugural FIFA Series in Brazil last month. However, she never competed in South America as she had to withdraw from the team due to injury.  

Now Lawrence is fully fit and in fine form, coming off a successful debut campaign with French club OL Lyonnes following her move from English side Chelsea last July. Lyonnes won this season's Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue, will play in this weekend’s French league final, and was a finalist in last week's UEFA Champions League. Lawrence had a goal and three assists in 16 French league games this season, while also featuring in eight Champions League matches. 

"I think the second half of the season for Ash was really positive; I saw a big reaction in her performances, intensity in her play … We had an honest conversation back before SheBelieves, and I think she's responded really well. So, to have someone like Ash with the experience that she can bring, the know-how of the later stages of tournaments that she's been in, is a real positive for us," Stoney said.

Lawrence ranks eighth in all-time appearances for the Canadian women’s team, having earned 151 caps (127 starts) since making his international debut in 2013, scoring eight goals and tallying 19 assists along the way. Her last outing for Canada came in a 1-0 road loss to Japan on Dec. 2, 2025. Since then, Canada has played six times, winning three with a pair of losses.  

Aside from Lawrence, midfielder Jordyn Listro (Tampa Bay Sun FC), also returns to the national team for the June window for the first time since June 2021.

"This is an opportunity to look at Jordan, bring her in, have a closer look, see how she does, because we have been short of [No. 6]  midfielders, and I think she is a very good defensive midfielder," Stoney said.

There’s also a first call-up for Washington Spirit defender Élisabeth Tsé, who represented Canada at the 2022 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Costa Rica.  

“We've been tracking Élisabeth for a little while now, and obviously with her [recent] move to the NWSL, I've spoken closely to her coach, Adriá [González] and how she's been doing at Washington. This is a window where I've intentionally chosen to have one game, so we can train more with that training time. I want to be able to see some players that we can rule in or rule out. Elizabeth is one of those that has got interest from another country as well that we wanted to look at,” Stoney said.

The most recognizable names on Canada’s latest roster are captain Jessie Fleming and fellow midfielder Julia Grosso; goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan; defenders Vanessa Gilles and Kadeisha Buchanan; fullback Janine Soinis; and forwards Nichelle Prince and Olivia Smith.   

Defender Gabrielle Carle, and forwards Jordyn Huitema and Holly Ward are included in this latest Canadian squad after missing the April international window due to injury.

"To have them back to be able to train, to be able to have them back in the environment to continue to build on the performances that we have over the last two windows will be positive," Stoney stated.

Two Northern Super League players made the cut: forward Delaney Baie Pridham (last season's league MVP) and goalkeeper Melissa Dagenais, both from Ottawa Rapid FC.  

"[Pridham] has done really well in the camps for us recently. I think she's been hungry, competitive, and she remains that way. Obviously, I know she'd like to score in a few more games, but she's still getting into the right areas, I think she's still a threat, so to have her in and around the environment again is a positive," Stoney offered.

Unavailable for next month’s game due to injury are forward Adriana Leon and fullback Jayde Riviere, while AFC Toronto midfielder Kaylee Hunter (last season’s NSL rookie of the year) and forward Annabelle Chukwu will be in Spain with the under-20 team in June for matches against England and Japan. Also absent from this Canadian squad is Vancouver Rise FC midfielder Quinn (106 caps) whose previous national team appearance was last April.  

"I think there's always an open door [to returning] and I've had those honest conversations with Quinn. I think it's about consistency of performance across the season, and making sure that they're a standout player in the league that they're playing in," Stoney explained.

Canada is No. 9 in the current FIFA world rankings, 33 spots above Costa Rica. The Canadians have won all 18 of their games vs. Las Ticas, including a 4-1 victory on June 27, 2025, at Toronto's BMO Field in their previous encounter.    

The game on June 9 serves as preparation for the Concacaf W Qualifiers from Nov. 27 to Dec. 5 in Texas which is the region's qualifying tournament for next year's World Cup in Brazil and the 2028 LA Olympics.   

Stoney’s team has been idle since April when it beat Zambia and South Korea in its opening matches of the FIFA Series, before suffering a 1-0 loss to host nation Brazil. 

Teams are allowed to play two games during the June window, but Stoney made the decision to only play one match next month.

"We've had windows before where we play the same team twice, and I just don't see the benefit of going to Costa Rica and playing Costa Rica twice. When we can get extended training minutes, we can play an inter squad game, we can get more time on the grass to build the relationships within the team, I just didn't feel the benefit of that," Stoney offered.

Canada's previous home match was last summer's contest vs. Costa Rica – since then Les Rouges have played 11 consecutive road games.  

Organizing a game on Canadian soild on the eve of this summer's men's World Cup posed a lot of challenges, on top of the normal obstacles the Canadian women's team faces in trying to stage home matches.

"I'll be frank with you, there's not that many teams that will travel to Canada to play, especially during certain months a year, because they just won't play on turf. So, we are limited during certain months, and obviously, we've got the men's World Cup coming up. We would have liked this to be a home window, but it's just not possible with what's going on in Canada at the moment. So, we've had to play away," Stoney said.

She later added: "We want to take on the best opposition, but we also are very mindful that we want to have home games. We want to play in front of the home support ... Nothing's confirmed yet, but we are hoping that possibly in October we'll have a double game window in Canada, but we're still waiting for confirmation on that."

CANADA’S ROSTER  

Goalkeepers: Melissa Dagenais (Ottawa Rapid FC), Sabrina D’Angelo (Aston Villa) and Kailen Sheridan (North Carolina Courage). 

Defenders: Kadeisha Buchanan (Chelsea FC), Gabrielle Carle (Washington Spirit), Élisabeth Tsé (Washington Spirit), Sydney Collins (Bay FC), Vanessa Gilles (FC Bayern Munich), Ashley Lawrence (OL Lyonnes), Jade Rose (Manchester City), Janine Sonis (Denver Summit FC), and Shelina Zadorsky (West Ham United FC). 

Midfielders: Simi Awujo (Manchester United), Jessie Fleming (Portland Thorns FC), Julia Grosso (Chicago Red Stars), Jordyn Listro (Tampa Bay Sun FC), Emma Regan (Denver Summit FC), and Carly Wickenheiser (North Carolina Courage).  

Forwards: Marie-Yasmine Alidou (Portland Thorns FC), Jordyn Huitema (Chicago Red Stars), Cloé Lacasse (Utah Royals FC), Delaney Baie Pridham (Ottawa Rapid FC), Nichelle Prince (Boston Legacy FC), Olivia Smith (Arsenal), Evelyne Viens (AS Roma), and Holly Ward (Seattle Reign FC).