Ace Wairarapa player Michele Clarke has been included in the New Zealand women's soccer squad to play two tests against Canada at North Harbour Stadium on June 3 and 6. Clarke, (nee Keinzley), who lives in Masterton and plays in the Wellington inter-club competition for Upper Hutt, is joined in the24-woman squad by her former Wairarapa United team-mate Niki Smith. The matches against world No.10 Canada will be New Zealand's first full home internationals since their 3-1 loss to Australia in an Oceania Cup World Cup qualifier in Auckland in 1998. "This is the equivalent of the All Whites hosting Spain?they could be a dark horse for the World Cup later this year" New Zealand Football head of women's football, Michele Cox, said of Canada. "Our public hasn't see the national women's team play at home in nearly a decade so get a team like this (Canada) is a fantastic opportunity for both the players and the promotion of the women's game." The two tests with China will be preceded by a fixture with the touring University of North Carolina team in Auckland on May 27 and form in the three matches will obviously play a big part when the New Zealand team to contest the World Cup in China this September is selected.
