Kaelan Watson's field hockey duties are taking her around the world.
A week after helping Canada win gold at the Pan American Cup Indoor Championships in Uruguay, the Richmond defender is heading to England with the national team for a series of exhibition matches against England and Wales.
The University of Toronto graduate already has 16 caps to her credit after cracking the national team roster last summer. She had put her international career on hold while focusing on her studies at Toronto, with the Canadian team based out of Vancouver.
In Uruguay, Canada defeated powerhouse Argentina 3-1 in the final to clinch a spot in the 2015 World Indoor Cup in Germany next February.
Watson played plenty of indoor field hockey during her time back east.
The women went 2-0-1 in the tournament round-robin before beating the U.S. and Argentina in the playoffs en route to gold. They tallied a total of 20 goals and earned three shutouts.
"The girls really came out to play today and they came out not wanting to leave the court without a win," said women's coach John De Souza. "They have worked extremely hard and made a lot of sacrifices in order to get to this moment. I am really proud of what they have come here and achieved and we are very excited about the opportunity to play in the World Cup."
In England, Canada will be taking on a team ranked number three in the world and which is in the final stages of preparation for the World Cup this summer.
"Against teams like England, you have no place to hide and this kind of exposure will test both our on-field and off-field systems," says women's national team head coach Ian Rutledge.
"This team strives to achieve lofty goals and it is young enough and talented to work hard to make a difference."
Canada departs for England tomorrow and begins the series on Sunday with the first of four consecutive matches against England, which will be followed by three straight versus Wales.
Watson was a four-time First Team All-Canadian and the 2010 CIS Championship MVP during her time in Toronto.
