Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – A pleasant surprise, to put it mildly, late in the recruiting cycle, MacEwan Griffins women's soccer head coach Dean Cordeiro received news one of his former club players was aiming to return home from the NCAA.
That's how veteran defender Sofia Andrade came to sign with the Griffins for the 2024-25 Canada West season as a transfer from Tennessee's Union University.
"She's a gamer," said Cordeiro, who has worked with her at Northwest United/St. Albert Impact. "She's been to a few different NCAA schools and it's kind of full circle with her returning back to Edmonton and playing at MacEwan in U SPORTS. "We're excited to add a player of her talent. She's a veteran and that experience is going to be a huge asset."
A product of Internazionale 2002 team, she graduated from Archbishop O'Leary in 2020 and headed to the U.S. to play for Memphis with teammate Nicole Brodeur.
While Brodeur transferred to MacEwan, Andrade remained States-side, entering the portal and moving to the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, where she had her most impactful NCAA season – starting 10 games in 2021.
Andrade was on the Mocs roster through 2023 before being announced as a 2024 transfer to Union in February after dealing with some injuries, but decided to return home to Edmonton to play U SPORTS.
"She's pretty battle-tested and has been through a lot, so we're beyond excited to have her back here at full strength to add to our back line," said Cordeiro.
The Griffins are getting a good one.
The 5-foot-8 centre-back also has the ability to play the fullback position and will add a steady presence to a MacEwan back line that lost two starters from 2023-24 after Hannah Supina and Abbey Wright graduated.
"Sofia can really help us in our build-up phases, she's a strong 1v1 defender, she's got very good athleticism, she sticks tackles, blocks shots and does what's needed," said Cordeiro. "If she's at the fullback position, she can break lines, get forward and really stretch out the opponent to create quality final acts.
"We're looking forward to adding Sofia's strong leadership and communication abilities. She's an outstanding addition to the Griffs."
