Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – With opportunities for high-level women's soccer growing in Alberta's capital region, several current and former MacEwan Griffins players are jumping on board.
Six Griffins have been introduced as part of the St. Albert Impact's inaugural United Women's Soccer (UWS) pro-am roster set to begin play as soon as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted enough to allow them to do so.
Current players Samantha Gouveia, Meagan Lemoine and Kaylin Hermanutz will be key members of the squad, along with MacEwan alumni Erika Vecchio, Kayla Evans and Sheena Tracey. In addition, Griffins head coach Dean Cordeiro will serve as associate head coach, alongside head coach and general manager Troye Flannery.
"It's the best soccer around," said Cordeiro. "It really closes that gap with the pro-am league. The next step is to play professionally. The UWS is looking to expand to a pro (league) maybe as soon as next year, so it's exciting. The pathways for women's soccer and female athletes have been growing. To have more opportunities to grow the game, especially in our backyard, is important.
"I feel blessed to be asked to be part of something like this. There are so many of our varsity players already involved, which obviously is a nice feather in the cap of what we've done to build one of the marquee programs in the country."
With UWS joining forces with the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) to form a professional loop as early as 2022, it gives hope to top university women's players looking for professional opportunities.
"Right now, we're in the birth of professional women's soccer, which is cool to be in this movement," said Gouveia.
"It will be nice to have quite a few familiar faces (on the Impact). There are only two semi-professional teams in Canada."
St. Albert joins Calgary's Foothills FC in the UWS' West Conference, which also includes Internacional Club Atlético (Santa Ana, Calif.), the Santa Clarita Blue Heat (Newhall, Calif.) and the Kongo Soccer Club ( Kaysville, Utah). The latter three have already started their seasons.
Samantha Gouveia, seen clearing the ball to safety against UFV during a 2019 game, is excited for growing professional opportunities in women's soccer (Chris Piggott photo).
Griffins centre-back Gouveia will be a key part of the team's back line.
"Samantha's been an elite centre-back at the U SPORTS level – one of the best in the Canada West conference for years," said Cordeiro. "She's ready to take her talents to the UWS. Her leadership qualities, ability to play out of the back, and her success-rate in connection of passes are exceptional. She's someone who really gets things going and she will be a huge addition to the team."
Lemoine primarily plays in MacEwan's forward group, but the Impact will be moving the reigning Canada West second team all-star to fullback.
"Meagan has already had a ton of success at the Canada West level playing multiple positions," said Cordeiro. "She's predominantly been a forward with us at the university level, but she broke in as a fullback. We're looking to use her as a fullback at this level just because of her ability to defend 1 v 1 and the offence she can bring. We all know when Meagan gets going, there's no stopping her. Meagan's going to be an impactful player right from the onset."
Hermanutz, like Gouveia and Lemoine, is planning to return to the Griffins for a final season in the fall and the UWS opportunity will prime the central midfielder for a strong swan song campaign.
"I think getting the opportunity to play at this level is going to further help her become one of the marquee midfielders in Canada West this coming year," said Cordeiro. "The simplicity of her game, her ability to break lines, her play in the attacking third and her ability to play balls to those advanced platforms and create a lot of final acts for her teammates is second to none. We'll see Kaylin looking to take a step towards scoring more goals, as well – she has that capability."
Kaylin Hermanutz, seen battling for a header against Manitoba during the 2019 season, has an opportunity to be a key player on the St. Albert Impact - a perfect primer for her final Canada West season in the fall (Chris Piggott photo).
Vecchio last played for the Griffins during the 2015-16 season, but served as an assistant coach during the 2019 season. Cordeiro says the midfielder – who has continued to play at a high level for his Northwest United club – is an even better player now than she was in university.
"Obviously Erika was our nationals tournament MVP back in 2013, had an illustrious career at the U SPORTS level and holds several of the team records that we keep," he said. "More recently, she was the AMSL Player of the Year in 2019 – the last season we had – and has led her club team Northwest United to multiple national championship appearances. She's one of the top players in the province."
Evans, who also last played for the Griffins in 2015-16, has also been a key part of Northwest United's success over the past few years at the crucial centre-back position.
"Kayla's a force to be reckoned with," said Cordeiro. "She's first to every ball. Her compete, work rate, and intensity levels are off the charts. She's another veteran player who has played at all the highest levels throughout her youth and adult career. Kayla is definitely going to be heavily relied on at the centre-back position to really help this team achieve the success we're looking for."
Tracey, who had seven points for the Griffins in her final season at MacEwan in 2015, will be a huge part of the Impact's offensive attack, whether it be from the wing or an attacking midfield position.
"Sheena is next level in her ability to create and score goals," said Cordeiro. "She is so tenacious. Her refuse-to-lose mentality is unmatched and will be an asset to help this team reach our goals – winning the Western Conference and getting to nationals."
If they do get to final UWS tournament, there's a chance they'll square off against former Griffins teammate Jamie Erickson, who signed with the San Antonio Athenians and is already making a huge impact for them.
"It's amazing," noted Cordeiro. "Jamie went there and within a month she's wowed the staff so much that she was the captain for their home opener against their rivals Austin FC and they beat them 3-0.
"We are so proud of Jamie and what she is accomplishing in San Antonio. I can't wait for the Impact FC season to begin to see what our athletes will make of the opportunity."
