2021 Women’s Soccer Season Preview
It has been over 670 days since the Dalhousie Tigers women’s soccer team last played a non-exhibition match.
By Troy Langstaff
It has been over 670 days since the Dalhousie Tigers women’s soccer team last played a non-exhibition match. A loss in the quarter-finals of the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) playoffs has fueled the team to get back on the pitch to redeem what was a strong 6-3-3 showing in the 2019 regular season. That performance created lots of promise for the squad and a certain level of expectation for the many new faces on the 2021 team.
There is quite a large hole to fill this season due to the departure of graduating seniors Maya Venkataraman and Rachelle Lalande. Both players were AUS first team all-stars in their final year and combined to score 13 of the team’s 21 goals in 2019. With the cancellation of the 2020 season there were five graduating players who unfortunately did not get to play in their final year. Haley Birrell, Breagh Bates, Sarah MacVarish, Catherine Guevin Nicoloff and Olivia MacIntyre were all instrumental to the team’s success on the field and in the locker room.
“Those players helped to create a foundation for us moving forward,” says head coach Cindy Tye. “They had a team-first mindset with a work ethic to match [and] they were great role models for our younger players.”
With the departure of seniors from the 2019 and 2020 squads, Tye and staff have welcomed 14 new players for the 2021 campaign. These new players should have no problem sliding into the lineup alongside players like Morgan Leon, who was named to the U SPORTS all-rookie team in 2019, and Annabel Gravely, who quickly adjusted to the high level of AUS play with six starts in her first season. The team will also be welcoming a few transfer veterans including Holly Buckler, a fifth-year from Acadia University, and Alexandra Doane, a fourth-year from Queen’s University. Coach Tye is confident that the leadership core of the team will help these new additions to adapt quickly.
“They have put in a year of work through extraordinary circumstances,” she says. “We want them to lead with confidence, keep stretching themselves to improve, and enjoy the opportunity to let it show in their performances.”
The squad got back into the rhythm of things earlier this month when they played in a few pre-season games which resulted in a trio of 2-0 wins over Memorial, Acadia and Saint Mary’s. “The games provided us with a starting point against top competition,” says Tye. “We were happy with parts of all the games and the chance to see all the players in competition. Like every team, we have work to do and want to get better each week.”
The Tigers kick things off for real on September 11th when they welcome the University of New Brunswick Reds to town in a rematch of their 2019 AUS quarter-final. Home field advantage in their first four of five games will be crucial in the early goings of the year when the Tigers try to accumulate important points in order to make the playoffs for their fifth-straight season. The true test will come in the second half of the regular season when the team faces off against powerhouse Cape Breton in two of their last three matches. The Tigers will also have to play St. Francis Xavier twice down the stretch of the season, a team who didn’t lose a single game in 2019 (7-0-5).
When asked what the energy levels were like amongst the team now that they’re less than a week away from the season opener, Tye kept it short and sweet, “They are excited. As they should be, they have waited a long time for this week.”
Kickoff this Saturday versus UNB at Wickwire Field goes at 1:00PM.