We give a lot of attention to Kadehisha Buchanan, her exploits at WVU and her spot on the Canadian women’s national team roster … and let’s be honest, deservedly so. She’s terrific, and she’s on a stamp. Buchanan has been renowned for quite some time, even if you’re just now noticing, and her star really started to soar last year when she scored on Hope Solo.

But she has a teammate with the Mountaineers and with Team Canada who’s a way-above-average player who just doesn’t get the same attention. For now? Ashley Lawrence has been starting for the Canadians and she, too, has an international goal to her name. The first of her career came Monday as Canada won its group with a 1-1 draw against the Dutch.

Her story is actually quite good to witness, too. Not to say she was stuck in limbo, of sorts, but there was an uncertain period she’s certainly made seem like a memory.

Lawrence’s success story is different, but it’s a tale of triumph. She’s yet to score in 18 appearances and four starts, and she went from seven appearances in 2013 to three last year and back to seven and three starts this year.

“With Canada, we went back and forth some, and they thought maybe she was better off at a different position,” Izzo-Brown said. “Not to say I was right, but I truly believed Ashley was a midfielder by trade and I stuck by that. These past two seasons, she’s had a great opportunity to show Canada she can be an impact on the field for them, so I’m real happy she’s been able to showcase her trade and her talent and also get better as a player.”

Lawrence, a captain for Canada’s 2012 World Cup under-17 team, had four goals and four assists as a freshman in 2013 and was first-team all-conference. Last season, she repeated that honor and finished with four goals and seven assists.