Jefferson Hagen / MacEwan Athletics

Even after leading the Canada West conference in save percentage last season, it appears Emily Burns somehow has another gear.

Over the summer, she suited up for Canada's lone team in the United Women's Soccer Leagues (UWS) – Calgary-based Foothills FC – and took her game to an even higher level. Playing against pro squads across the U.S., Burns wound up being named as the top goalkeeper in the Western Conference, en route to a UWS second team all-star nod.

"That was pretty cool," said the Sherwood Park product who is embarking on her third season with the Griffins. "I'm a young player for this league, so that was pretty crazy. 

"It's all from hard work and Dean (Cordeiro, Griffins head coach) was a huge part of supporting me. My coach down there (Troye Flannery, who is also bench boss at the University of Calgary) was awesome, too."

Burns finished the campaign with 26 saves in four matches, the fourth-best saves/game mark in the loop, and allowed six goals against with one shutout, while sporting a 2-1-1 record.

"For her to get the accolades of their conference keeper of the year and second team all-star is not surprising as she just continues to exceed expectations," said Griffins head coach Dean Cordeiro. 

"She's a sponge. She wants it. Every environment she gets in, it's contagious for her. She wants to be the best. She pushes herself past what many others would and has been achieving greatness." 

Burns, who was one of a few U Sports athletes on the Foothills squad, really enjoyed the experience.

"Our first home game, we had close to 800 people out and it was even a rainy day," she said of the well-supported Calgary squad, which fell just short of a playoff spot after finishing with a 4-3-1 record in their inaugural UWS campaign. "There was a huge amount of support from locals, as well as online with people watching from out of town."

And she learned how to fight for playing time as she shared the goal with Sarah Dilling.

"It definitely taught me how to work hard and having to work for your position," she explained. "It also became all about dedication because that's all we were doing – just playing soccer. 

"Playing with older players taught me maturity. At the beginning of the season when things weren't necessarily going my way, it just pushed me to be better and motivated me to want to be better and want to play."

Those are certainly traits she can bring back to the Griffins as MacEwan prepares for its Canada West season opener on Sept. 9 against Thompson Rivers University (TRU). Now heading into her third university season, Burns will be among a key leadership group for the Griffins as they aim to improve upon a fourth-place finish in Canada West in 2016.

"Those experiences, being surrounded by quality vets on that Foothills team, are so valuable for her continued growth as a player, as a person," said Cordeiro. "For us, the core of our team is 97s, who are going into their third year. Those are our leaders, our captains. Those are the people that we expect to be leading the way. 

"We are absolutely going to look for Emily to take some of that experience, what she learned with those great leaders with Foothills and become a leader for us here."

The Griffins opened training camp last week and are preparing for their first non-conference action this weekend. Due to poor air quality in Kamloops from the B.C. wildfires, a three-team exhibition tournament originally set to be hosted by TRU has been moved to Edmonton.

MacEwan will kick off the affair on Friday with a match against Prince George-based UNBC. TRU and UNBC will meet on Saturday, and the Griffins will take on TRU on Sunday (all games at 11 a.m., Edmonton Soccer Association Complex, 14940-142 Street NW). Additionally, MacEwan's second team will scrimmage against UNBC on Sunday (8:30 a.m.).

"Of all the years, this is the one season I've been most excited about and eagerly anticipating the start of," said Cordeiro, whose team is coming off an 8-3-3 year – the program's best in its Canada West history. "We have a great mix of players, we have a strong recruiting class. We're elated about the growth of our program and the mix of players we have. 

"I think in other years, we were trying to work out the kinks and find roles for some players. This year, everyone kind of knows where they're at coming in."