‘I feel really confident in our team’
Cape Breton soccer players ready for Canada Games in Winnipeg
Three Cape Breton players have high hopes for a medal performance as members of the Nova Scotia women’s soccer team competing at the 2017 Canada Games in Winnipeg.
“I feel really confident in our team,” said 18-year-old Olivia MacIntyre of Sydney, a central defender with the Nova Scotia squad. “We’re all really close and we’ve played together for a while. I think going into the Games, we should be one of the top competitors.”
MacIntyre, 17-year-old winger Beatrice Currie of Sydney River and 15-year-old leftwing back Becca LeBlanc of Sydney found out they made the Canada Games women’s soccer team in May. It’s been a two-year process to make the cut, and has meant a lot of commitment on the part of all three players.
“It was kind of surreal at the time because it was one of the longest processes,” said MacIntyre.
She’s played for Riverview, provincially, starting at the under-16 level, and will suit up for the Dalhousie Tigers in the fall.
“Finally being able to say that I was actually on the team, it was a pretty good feeling.”
Currie moved to Halifax two years ago and has been attending Halifax West High School. She’s trained through the regional excel (REX) program the past two years along with suiting up with the provincial squad. She’ll enter Grade 12 in the fall and then plans on attending university in the United States.
Currie said based on Nova Scotia’s prior fourth-place finish, her team has a good shot at reaching the podium.
“I think one of our strengths is we all come from different backgrounds,” said Currie, a product of the Cape Breton FC program. “We haven’t all grown up in the same club environment, so we all bring something different to the team. Some girls are very quick, other girls have excellent footwork, leadership — everybody brings something new.”
Unlike her teammates, LeBlanc is playing with players that are two or three years older.
“At the start, I wasn’t very comfortable,” said LeBlanc, another Cape Breton FC graduate. “Now, everybody’s helped me and I’m very comfortable with the group.
“Just to play with older players that know what they’re doing, I find that helps.”
LeBlanc also moved to Halifax for the REX program and will enter Grade 11 at Halifax West in the fall. Although she still has two more years of high school, she’s already talking to universities and weighing her options.
“It’s really worth it and just to get to play in the Canada Games is going to be a great experience,” she said.
Nova Scotia will play in Group ‘D’ with New Brunswick and Manitoba. They open play on Saturday against New Brunswick at 9:30 p.m. Atlantic time and play again Monday at 9:30 p.m. Atlantic against Manitoba. The top two teams in each group move on to the medal stage on Aug. 1-2, while the third-place teams play in the consolation round.
Placement games will be played Aug. 2-3. The bronze medal match is Aug. 3 at 6 p.m., followed by the gold medal game at 9 p.m., all times Atlantic.