Canada's women's team opens Stoney era with draw in Pinatar Cup

Canada women's soccer team blew a 1-0 lead en route to a 1-1 draw with China in Casey Stoney's first match in charge of the national team Wednesday at the Pinatar Cup in Murcia, Spain.

Julia Grosso opened the scoring in the 16th minute with a composed finish off Gabrielle Carle's overhead pass, but Canada's offense sputtered and China equalized in the 58th minute after a goalmouth scramble.

Substitute Adriana Leon had a goal chalked off for offside in the 76th minute and had appeals for a penalty dismissed despite drawing contact deep inside the penalty area.

Canadian 'keeper Sabrina D'Angelo saved a low driven shot in the 91st minute to preserve the draw.

Canada had won each of its previous seven matches against China.

The Canadians will face No. 31-ranked Mexico on Saturday and No. 42 Taiwan next Tuesday in the invitational round-robin tournament.

Former Manchester United Women manager Stoney, who captained England's women's team during her career as a defender, replaced Bev Priestman on Canada's bench following a spying scandal that forced a major review of practices within Canada Soccer.

Priestman was fired in November after an independent review confirmed she had "directed, approved, and condoned" the use of drones to spy on New Zealand's practices before a game at the Paris Games.

"My message is about turning the page, moving forward, being open-minded to the new ideas that we're going to bring to the team," Stoney told reporters Tuesday, according to the Toronto Star. "And about focusing from this day onward and what it takes to prepare to win a World Cup."