Feb. 29, 2008

GREEN BAY, Wis. - Tosaint Ricketts, a member of the Green Bay men's soccer team, will again serve has a key factor for the Canadian National Team this season, as Ricketts will serve as a member of the Canadian U-23 Olympic qualifying team.

"This is a great opportunity for Tos to compete for his country again," said head coach Tom Poitras. "He is a great representative of Green Bay Soccer and the level of talent we have in our program. Tos continues to train hard to improve himself as a player and as a leader on our team."

Last season, Ricketts was a second-team all-region selection as the junior forward aided the Phoenix in posting an 11-5-6 record and finishing as the Horizon League championship runners-up in 2007. Ricketts tied for the team lead in scoring with 13 points on six goals and an assist.

Ricketts, who recently was featured here in an interview with Sean Grybos, will train with the Canadian U-23 National team throughout March. Olympic qualification games will take place in Carson, Calif., and Nashville, Tenn. The team will also have a pair of exhibition contests in the first week of March to prepare for the qualification tournament.

Canada's round-robin competition in Carson, Calif., features México (March 12), Haiti (March 14) and Guatemala (March 16). Should they finish amongst the top-two teams in their group, they will advance to the semi-final on 20 March in Nashville, TN (to be played against a team from the other round-robin group). The semi-final winner will advance to the 23 March final and book their ticket for the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Last season, Ricketts had a hat trick against the United States in a U-20 friendly prior to the 2007 U-20 World Cup hosted by Canada.