Back on the pitch
Knee surgery, pandemic limited Prince’s playing time since World Cup
It has been more than a year since Nichelle Prince suited up with the Houston Dash of the National Women’s Soccer League.
The Canadian international sustained a knee injury at last summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, which kept her off the field for the remainder of the season.
Now she will be among the first professional athletes in North America returning to the field following the COVID-19 lockdown, playing in the NWSL Challenge Cup starting June 27 in Utah.
“I feel strong and it has been a while since I’ve been able to play with the Dash so it feels good to be back,” Prince said. “I’m really excited about the tournament. At first I was a little surprised that we ended up with a tournament, I thought we would have a shorter regular season.
“I’m a little disappointed that’s not going to happen, but I’m excited to just be back playing with the Dash and I’m excited to be together with my teammates and have something to look forward to again. We’re all looking forward to giving everything we have for that short amount of time, and hopefully, win a title.”
An Ajax, Ont., product, Prince, 25, has been with the Canadian national program since 2012. She played with the Under-17 and Under-20 national team before making her senior debut in 2013. Prince was a member of Canada’s bronze-medal winning team at the 2016 Olympics in Rio and was on last summer’s World Cup squad, who went out in the second round.
Prince scored a goal in Canada’s 2-0 win against New Zealand at the World Cup, but had to undergo surgery on her knee after the tournament.
“I got injured in our second game and I actually didn’t realize what it was or how bad it was, I thought it was just a knock that was pretty painful,” Prince said. “It was the World Cup and I wanted to play every game that I could and I played through it.
“Once we were eliminated from the tournament I came back and got my knee checked out and they saw that it was a torn meniscus and that I would be out for three months and that was the end of the season for me unfortunately. So I was pretty much out from the end of July until the end of October.”
A talented striker, Prince has 11 goals in 59 appearances for Canada at the senior level. She’s going into her fourth season with the Dash after graduating from Ohio State University.
“It’s a different vibe with the Dash this year, the chemistry has been really good so far,” Prince said. “We have a lot of new players, but they’re actually experienced that have been in the league for years prior. We have a very mature team this year, a team that has a lot of experience.
“I know it’s only been a couple of weeks of us together, but I think that time when we weren’t able to be on the field, was a time that we were really able to chat and get to know each other through Zoom calls, which is different, because usually you are straight on the field and are just competing for a spot. It was kind of different this year, the first few months of us meeting each other was just getting to know each other and that was really awesome.”
Prince had just finished playing an exhibition tournament with the Canadian national team in France when the pandemic shutdown practically every professional sporting event in the world. She returned to
Nichelle Prince
Houston to wait out the lockdown.
“We were told that we had to quarantine for two weeks when I got back, which I thought was super long and then the whole league got shut down,” Prince said. “Through the pandemic and through the lockdown, the Dash stayed really connected through that time. We had a lot of Zoom calls with the
It has been a while since I’ve been able to play with the Dash.
whole team and we had tactical calls and we had a bonding night, which was a lot of fun, so we stayed connected.
“Also while everything was shut down, it was a time where I talked to my friends and family back home more than usual. It was nice to talk to my family that I don’t get to see a lot.”
In 47 games with the Dash over three years, Prince has five goals and three assists. Houston finished seventh in the nine-team NWSL last season and did not qualify for the playoffs. The team also features Canadians Allysha Chapman and Sophie Schmidt.
All three are expected to be part of Canada’s entry into the Tokyo Olympics, which were pushed back to next summer due to the pandemic.
Canada qualified for the Olympic tournament in February.
“At first it was really disappointing and really upsetting, just because the Olympics is something you prepare for four years,” Prince said.
“But then I realized that if I looked at the positive, because of my injury I haven’t played a lot so this gives me a chance to get back to my peak and feel the best I can for next year.”