Ancaster's Melissa Tancredi is heading to London to compete on Canada's women's soccer team. She is considered to be one of the best strikers in the world and holds the record for the fastest goal in World Cup history at 37 seconds.

The Canadian women’s soccer team announced Monday the 18 players who will compete at the London Olympics.

"She's one of the [national team's] outstanding players," said Al Carrafiello, president of the Hamilton and District Soccer Association. "I'm not surprised she got picked.

Carrafiello said he's known Trancredi for about 15 years. They met when she was a teenager and was chosen to referee younger teams.

Tancredi began playing soccer as a young girl in Ancaster, where her family still lives. She also played on various teams in Hamilton, Burlington and Oakville, said Carrafiello.

He remembers her as a hard-working young woman.

"She always showed up on time, dressed properly with a good attitude," Carrafiello said. "I'm not surprised she's become so successful."

Canada’s roster, selected by head coach John Herdman, also includes goalkeepers Karina LeBlanc and Erin McLeod; defenders Candace Chapman, Carmelina Moscato, Emily Zurrer, Robyn Gayle, Lauren Sesselmann, Chelsea Stewart and Rhian Wilkinson; midfielders Kaylyn Kyle, Diana Matheson, Kelly Parker, Sophie Schmidt and Desiree Scott; and forwards Jonelle Filigno, Tancredi, Brittany Timko and captain Christine Sinclair.

Twelve of the 18 players were part of the 2008 Olympic team that reached the quarter-finals in Beijing.

The 12-team Olympic women’s tournament begins on July 25 — two days before the London Games' opening ceremony.

Canada will face Japan (July 25), South Africa (July 28) and Sweden (July 31) in group play. It’s considered a tough draw, as Japan won the Women’s World Cup last summer in Germany, and Sweden finished third.

The top two teams in each of the three Olympic groups advance to the knockout stage, along with two wild-card teams.

Canada lost all three of its matches at last year’s World Cup, but rebounded to qualify for the Olympics by finishing second to the United States in a regional qualifying tournament held in Vancouver in January.

The Canadian team is currently ranked seventh in the world by FIFA, soccer's international governing body.