Huge recruiting class bonus for the Griffins as 2021 national champ McCarthy returns for fifth season
Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – The last time Raeghan McCarthy wore a Griffins jersey was on an unforgettable Cape Breton night as the MacEwan women's soccer team celebrated their historic shootout victory over Trinity Western in the 2021 U SPORTS national championship final.
That was thought to be the end of McCarthy's illustrious career at MacEwan, but it turns out she has a year of eligibility remaining and plans to return for the 2025 Canada West season.
When she called head coach Dean Cordeiro to discuss the possibility, he wasted little time welcoming her back – a no-brainer decision one makes when speaking to one of the greatest goal scorers in program history.
McCarthy scored 12 times in four regular seasons (2017, 2018, 2019, 2021) for the Griffins, which is currently seventh on the team's all-time Canada West list, and she'll have the opportunity to add to that total in the fall. She's also the program's career leader in playoff goals with five, one of them coming in the 2021 U SPORTS national championship final game.
"Bringing in Raeghan and her experience winning a national championship will really help solidify our midfield," said Cordeiro. "She's a proven winner, she can score, create, and she's hard to play against because she plays with an edge.
"She's an important piece that I feel will help us take another step forward this year. The thing about Raeghan is she's also a very accomplished attacking player going back to her youth days. She's very comfortable in the front three, so I wouldn't be surprised if she got some looks up there for us, as well."
Lately, McCarthy has been playing holding midfield, more of a defensive position than what she did in her previous stint with the Griffins. That speaks to the growth in her complete game.
"Her game has really come around," said Cordeiro. "She can literally play any position and that gives us so many options. We don't see her in just one position, we see her playing anywhere in midfield and anywhere in the front three, which gives us so much more flexibility."
McCarthy was also known for her fitness when previously with the Griffins as she'd often play the full 90, practically touching every blade of grass on the pitch.
"She can run for days," said Cordeiro of a skill McCarthy still has. "She doesn't slow down. We talked about speed, we talked about being harder to play against, we talked about bringing in some experience.
"This recruiting class is going to go down as a very important group that we've brought into this program that sets us up for future years," he added. "I'm looking forward for camp to start. We're going to have a lot of options to throw at opponents, depending on what we're up against. The group is shaping up nicely."
