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International notes: Oliviero, Bennett in Canadian Futsal camp

03/18/2016, 6:15pm CDT
By ERIC ANDERSON
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For the past two seasons in Major Arena Soccer League, Ian Bennett has been the top goal-scorer for coach Giuliano Oliviero's Milwaukee Wave.

This weekend in Vaughan, Ontario, they will be teammates once again.

Bennett and Oliviero are among 29 players called in to a Canadian Futsal national team training camp ahead of May's CONCACAF Championship in Costa Rica.

The 42-year-old Oliviero played alongside Bennett, 10 years his junior, for five seasons with the Wave until taking over as coach in May 2014. Oliviero also played three seasons with Canadian futsal coach Kyt Selaidopoulos in Milwaukee, with Bennett joining them for the final two seasons (2009-10 and 2010-11).

Oliviero hasn't played professionally since taking over as Wave coach in May 2014, but has vast experience. His pro career started back in 1990, and the New Westminster, B.C., native has represented his country on several levels: Under-20, Olympic team, beach soccer and earned a cap for the full national team in 1995.

In 13 seasons with the Wave, Oliviero scored 177 goals in the regular season, fifth in team history – Bennett is sixth with 162, after scoring 73 over the past two seasons.

Canada, which hasn't qualified for the Futsal World Cup since playing in the inaugural edition in 1989, will face the U.S. – led by former Wave coach Keith Tozer – in a two-game series May 4 and 5 for a spot in the CONCACAF Championship.

The U.S. or Canada will join Costa Rica, Curaçao and Cuba in Group B of the eight-team tournament. The top two finishers in each group advance to the semifinals and earn berths in the FIFA Futsal World Cup, which starts Sept. 10 in Colombia.

On Twitter: @Oliviero21 @IanBennett26

  • Tosaint Ricketts (UW-Green Bay) was one of 23 players called in by coach Benito Floro for Canada's upcoming CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers against Mexico – the teams will meet next Friday in Vancouver, then square off four days later in Mexico City. Mexico (2-0-0) leads Group A in fourth-round qualifying, while Canada (1-0-1) is second ahead of El Salvador (0-1-1) and Honduras (0-2-0); the top two teams in the group advance to the final round of qualifying. Ricketts is listed as "unattached" by Canada Soccer, meaning he has officially left Turkish second division club Boluspor – he had one goal in 18 appearances (nine starts) in all appearances after signing with the team last August. Ricketts, 28, scored a team-best five goals in 12 matches for Canada in 2015 and has earned 47 caps overall. On Twitter: @TosaintRicketts

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