At national team training camp earlier this year, Melanie Matthews looked down to the end of the dugout and didn't recognize nearly as many faces as she had the previous three summers.

Gone was former captain Kristy Odamura, pitchers Lauren Bay and Dionne Meier, and outfielder Allison Bradley – all retired since the Beijing Olympics. Even the smiling face of catcher Tamra Howren, a White Rock native, was nowhere to be seen.

It was at that moment when Matthews, a 22-year-old Earl Marriott Secondary grad, knew things would be different this year.

Now, after three years as the team's leadoff batter and key offensive weapon, Matthews is adding another role – that of a team leader.

"I'm definitely having to take on some roles that I'm not accustomed to, and it's taken some getting used to," the soft-spoken outfielder said Wednesday, before Canada's 4-2 loss to Australia.

"At first it was definitely a little bit different to look around and not see some people."

Matthews is competing in her fourth Canada Cup with the national team, and she also spent one season with the Canada Elite developmental squad.

And if the new leadership role is taking its toll on her, it hasn't yet affected her play this week at the Canada Cup. Through seven round-robin games, Matthews has helped Canada rebound from a pair of tough losses – a 1-0 heartbreaking to Venezuela and a 10-0 drubbing at the hands of the U.S. – to a 4-3 mark overall.

In two games – Sunday against the Netherlands and Tuesday versus Venezuela – Matthews had led off the game with a home run, and she also has a double and triple to her credit.

Overall, she's batting .318 – she was near .400 before an 0-for-4 performance Wednesday – which could put her in the running for another Canada Cup top batter award, which she won in both 2006 and 2007.

Matthews is quick to credit her teammates – past and present – for much of her success with the national squad.

"I still watch people like (first baseman) Sheen Lawrick to see how they hit, and the players who have left, they really showed us what it means to work hard and be a team player," Matthews explained.

"Those players have had such a tremendous impact on us, and on the whole program."

And whether or not they have success the rest of the summer – the team heads to Oklahoma later this month for the USA World Cup – Matthews said it's somewhat bittersweet when she sees the next wave of Canadian stars on the national team roster.

"You make friends and it's sad to see them go, but it's also very exciting to see some new young faces, as well," she said.

- by Nick Greenizan

sports@peacearchnews.com