Acting head coach Spence keeps Canadian women's soccer team focused on the field

MARSEILLE, France — Andy Spence hasn't skipped a beat since being thrust into the acting head coach position for the Canadian women's soccer team at the Paris Olympics.

In charge of a coaching crew that has been cut in half in the wake of a drone spying scandal, Spence is sticking with the same style he used as an assistant. He has guided his team to three straight victories despite an avalanche of distractions over the last week.

"I would say he's like a light," said Canada defender Ashley Lawrence. "He has very good energy and is very positive. I think he's exactly what the team needs right now."

Canada survived the group stage by the slimmest of margins after a six-point FIFA penalty in the wake of the Canada Soccer scandal. The sanction put the team in must-win mode earlier than expected.

Vanessa Gilles scored in the 12th minute of injury time for a dramatic 2-1 win over host France last week and tallied again in a 1-0 victory over Colombia on Wednesday night that sent Canada into the knockout round.

"It would have been so easy for us to go our separate ways. For us to say like, 'What's even the point?,'" she said. "But we held onto that slim chance of us being able to (advance) and it fuelled us to go forward."

The Canadians travelled to Marseille on Thursday to prepare for a Saturday quarterfinal against Germany.

"It's been a week and a half, but it feels like years that we've been here," Gilles said from a muggy Stade de Nice after the game.

Head coach Bev Priestman was sent home last week after a team performance analyst was caught using a drone to record New Zealand practice sessions. FIFA suspended both for one year along with the assistant coach that the analyst reported to.

Canada Soccer has said it will conduct a full investigation. There's no suggestion the players were involved, but they were the ones impacted in the standings.

"It's just a lot of uncontrollables and incomprehension," Gilles said. "We really don't understand and we haven't got any explanations as to why six points (were docked)."

Before the game, players learned via group text that an appeal of that sanction had been dismissed. Regardless of the decision, they could still advance with a victory and focused on that.

Spence, who said he's normally a big talker, dialed it back a bit before the must-win game.

"Just with the players' mindset, I knew straight away (that) I didn't have to say much," he said. "They just had to be them and that's what they did."

The 41-year-old Spence has denied any knowledge or involvement in the drone incident. As part of the FIFA sanctions, Canada Soccer was fined the equivalent of about C$313,000.

The program originally had a six-member coaching staff for these Games. Only Spence, assistant coach Neil Wood and goalkeeper/set plays coach Jen Herst remain.

Spence, a Liverpool native, coached Everton in the FA Women's Super League before joining Canada Soccer in 2022.

"I've just tried to remind myself what do I need to stay true to," said Spence. "What's my character and what's my coaching soccer beliefs and just really stick to that."

Eighth-ranked Canada (3-0-0) finished behind first-place France (2-1-0) in the Group A standings. Clearing the group stage hurdle has allowed the defending champions to reset ahead of knockout play.

"The staff knows and the players know that they have our back and we have their back," said Canadian defender Kadeisha Buchanan. "It's been working really well."

Germany (2-1-0) finished second in Group B and is ranked fourth in the world.

The Canadians are looking to reach the Olympic podium for the fourth straight time. The final is scheduled for Aug. 10 in Paris.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 1, 2024.

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