Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics

EDMONTON – With a playing style based on building up out of the back, MacEwan women's soccer head coach Dean Cordeiro seeks centre-backs who can defend and find feet with pinpoint passing.

The Griffins have had a long history of greatness at the position, including former U SPORTS first team all-star Jamie Erickson, who now plays professionally in Ireland after graduating from MacEwan in 2020.

The latest addition to the position is Edmonton's Ella Fownes, who will kick off her university career with the Griffins in 2023.

"Ella's a very exciting centre-back – another position where we've had a long history of success," said Cordeiro. "Ella has a presence with size, strength, is very intelligent on the ball, and is always looking to find feet and connect passes. She's a natural leader, very strong 1v1 defender, very good in the air – checks all the boxes we look for from the centre-back position."

Like many recruits in the Griffins' 2023 class, the St. Francis Xavier product has been playing for Cordeiro's club team Northwest United in the AMSL.

Ella Fownes is a product of the St. Albert Impact and Victoria Soccer Club.

In her youth, Fownes played for Victoria Soccer Club (U13) and the St. Albert Impact (U15), where she was teammates with previously-announced Griffins recruit Hannah Harper. She was also a member of Alberta REX in 2019-20 with all three of them and current Griffin Anneke Odinga.

Cordeiro noted the Griffins will benefit from her elite defending.

"She covers a lot of ground, has good athleticism and is going to fit in really nicely with our group."