early. They hit nine of their first 16 shots to stay as close as 3

Two months ago, if you had told 16-year-old Sura Yekka that she would be a member of Canadas womens national team, she wouldnt have believed such a thing was possible. “I wouldnt have expected it. I would have been, like, ‘Oh, thats a good joke!” said Yekka on Wednesday. “It was crazy…I went to the Canada - U.S. game (in June) and I was a fan and then, within a couple of months, Im now part of the team…its just unreal,” she explained, trying to put into context how much her soccer career has changed in such a short period of time. It would be completely understandable if Yekka was overwhelmed by it all. Players who she grew up idolizing, the likes of Christine Sinclair and Diana Matheson, are now her teammates. But she isnt. In fact, shes taking it all in her stride. “When Im a little awestruck, its more off the field. But when Im on the field, Im like ‘These are my teammates, like ‘Im in the zone now”, said Yekka. Once she steps over the white line and the ball comes out, shes in her element. Yekka has all of the characteristics that you look for in a modern fullback: she is quick, agile, technically sound and has good natural instincts for when to jump into the attack. The area of her game that still needs work - which is understandable, given her age and relative inexperience - is her reading of the game and her positional awareness. Those can be taught and, the more time Yekka spends with the womens team and its coaching staff, the more she will improve in these areas. Over the next six months, Yekka will be preparing for the FIFA U-20 Womens World Cup, being held in Canada. With venues in Edmonton, Moncton, Montreal and Toronto, Yekka is excited about the prospect of playing in front of family and friends. “Its going to be a dream come true. The amount of people who are going to be there and knowing that your friends and family are going to be in the crowd and knowing that, no matter what, people are going to be there to support you…its going to be absolutely crazy. Its going to be so exciting,” she enthused. Aside from the thrill of playing in the U-20 World Cup, Yekka also sees the tournament as an opportunity to stake a claim to a place in the senior squad for the World Cup in 2015. “I feel like I need to do the best that I can to gain as much World Cup experience because everyone on the senior team has World Cup experience, no matter what level they have…and I feel like Im the only one thats lacking it so I feel like I need that. The fact that its home makes me more determined to do well,” said Yekka. That determination should see Yekkas star continue to shine. If she performs as well as she has shown in recent months, it will go a long way towards securing a spot on the senior team for the main event in 2015. So youd better get used to hearing Sura Yekkas name - I suspect youll be hearing it a great deal for years to come. Air Max 720 Uk Sale . -- Jerome Williams glanced at Philadelphias schedule and realized he would be facing the Oakland Athletics yet again, with another new team. Cheap Air Max 720 . Louis Blues, having added Ryan Miller and Steve Ott from Buffalo, remain the No. http://www.airmax720outletuk.com/ . So much so that even a simple foul pop up to the first baseman turned into a run. Houstons four-run rally in the ninth inning to beat the Seattle Mariners 6-4 on Monday night was capped by a bizarre play that started as Crowe fouled out to first baseman Justin Smoak with runners on second and third. Cheap Air Max 720 Uk . - Mike Magee converted two penalty kicks in a 10-minute span of the first half and the Chicago Fire beat Sporting Kansas City 2-1 on Sunday. Air Max 720 Cheap Uk .C. -- Ryan Sproul scored the winner late in double overtime to lift the Grand Rapids Griffins to a 2-1 win over the Abbotsford Heat on Friday in Game 1 of their American Hockey League playoff series.DES MOINES, Iowa -- Wichita State soared past yet another overwhelmed Missouri Valley Conference opponent on Saturday night. Now the Shockers could be in line for another leap in the national polls. Cleanthony Early scored 19 points, Ron Baker added 14 and fifth-ranked Wichita State stayed perfect with a 78-61 win over Drake. Wichita States latest win -- combined with an ugly home loss by No. 4 Villanova to Creighton during the week and No. 3 Michigan States home defeat against No. 21 Michigan on Saturday -- could put the Shockers (21-0, 8-0 MVC) in position to leapfrog both teams on Monday. Coach Gregg Marshall appeared to be stumping for his team with what seemed to be a bit of a jab at Michigan State (18-2) after the game. "Did the mighty Spartans lose again?" Marshall said as he left the podium following his postgame news conference. The Shockers will have to wait until March for Michigan State or whoever else might stand in their way at another Final Four appearance. For now, theyll have to settle for pounding on teams in the Valley. Drake was the latest to succumb to Wichita States acrobatic offence and suffocating defence. Nick Wiggins had 11 points for the visiting Shockers, who outscored Drake 28-15 to open the second half and turn a relatively close game into a rout. The Shockers have now won four straight by at least 15 points after an overtime scare at Missouri State two weeks ago. Aaron Hawley had 16 points to lead Drake (11-9, 2-6), which lost for the sixth time in seven games. "That team is extremely tough-minded," Drake coach Ray Giacoletti said. "Each possession offensively and defensively, they control their destiny. They dont splinter ever. We were not able to make them splinter." The Bulldogs had their moments against the Valleys top team, but Wichita State showed off its superior talent with a handful of game-defining plays. Baker answered a Drake 3 with a three-point play through traffic with 15:45 left, and that kicked off a pair of spurts that overwhelmed the Bulldoogs.dddddddddddd Chadrack Lufile scored inside, and Tekele Cottons floater put the Shockers ahead 52-35 with just over 13 minutes left. Early then soared through the paint to flush down an errant shot, and Wiggins three-point play capped an 11-0 run that made it 65-44. The Shockers outrebounded Drake 34-20 and held its leading scorer, Richard Carter, to six points. Its been six years since Drake caught the nations attention with a stunning surge to the Valley championship, the programs first in 37 seasons. The Bulldogs are on their third coach since that NCAA tournament run, with Giacoletti in his first season in Des Moines. Drake started the season 10-3 and whipped Evansville 94-66 in the league opener before slipping during the heart of its Valley schedule. But the Bulldogs, bolstered by a near-sellout crowd, did their best to push the Shockers early. They hit nine of their first 16 shots to stay as close as 30-26. But Baker found Cotton for a one-handed alley-oop that sent Wichita State into the break with a 37-29 lead. "I know Tekele Cotton pretty well. He can jump really high and he likes to dunk it," Baker said. "It was a really athletic play from him, which is no surprise." Cotton then opened the second half with another dunk and the Shockers were on their way to their eighth road win. The Shockers wont face a remaining schedule as tough as Michigan States or perhaps anyone else in a power league. But Marshall said his Shockers can play with anyone in the country. Wichita State next hosts Loyola and Evansville ahead of what could be its toughest test of the year, at 16-4 Indiana State on Feb. 5. "This is a very good basketball team. We dont have to apologize to anybody about our schedule," Marshall said. "Was it (former Arizona Cardinals coach) Dennis Green that says, We are what they say we are? So, were (fifth) in the country and probably moving up -- that is unless theres some elite team wants to jump us this week. I dont know who that elite team might be." ' ' '