BATON ROUGE — After joining the full Canadian National Team for a training camp in Oxnard, Calif., last month, LSU’s Taryne Boudreau has been invited to travel with the team to China as it competes in the Four Nations Tournament beginning Jan. 16.
The squad will convene in Vancouver on Saturday to begin its preparation for the event with a seven-day training camp before departing for China on Jan. 11.
The Four Nations Tournament returns to the site of the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup and will be Canada’s first international competition of the 2008 season. Canada is set to take on the United States on Jan. 16 and China on Jan. 18 before wrapping up the event against Finland on Jan. 20.
Boudreau, a freshman from Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, is looking to become the first LSU soccer player in program history to earn an international cap while representing her country.
“I’m really looking forward to training with the team again, and I hope to make the most of my opportunity,” Boudreau said. “It’s always been one of the biggest goals in my life to play a game with the full national team, and it would be a great honor to get a cap. I’m excited about the next couple of weeks, and I hope to play as much as I can with the team.”
Canada will use the Four Nations Tournament as preparation for April’s CONCACAF Olympic Qualification Tournament in Chihuahua, Mexico. Boudreau is in the player pool that will be used to select the roster that will represent Canada in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
“That would be amazing,” said Boudreau of the possibility of representing her country in the Olympics. “I’m really excited about playing in this tournament (Four Nations Tournament), but playing in the Olympics would be beyond words for me.”
LSU head coach Brian Lee said he is not surprised of the success Boudreau has enjoyed and that she will be a great ambassador for the program while competing at the international level.
“We’re certainly proud of all that Taryne has accomplished in her first season here at LSU, and she has a great opportunity in front of her as a member of the national team,” Lee said. “She is only going improve as a player and person through this experience, and we’ll be supportive in her dream of competing with the full national team and playing in the Olympics.”