Sports teams are notoriously tight lipped and cautious when making preseason predictions about success. Such is the case with the Martlets soccer team. While they didn’t engage in any interviews touting dominance over the rest of the field, the Martlets soccer team clearly has only one target for the season: a national championship. These girls are good, and despite the extremely respectful and modest tone, they know it.
Coming off a year in which the team drove to a third-place finish in the country, a Quebec championship and an 18-3-4 overall record-in which they went 11-1-2 in the Quebec conference-the Martlets have nothing left to prove except that they are the top women’s collegiate club in Canada.
“The goals are quite simple for the team this year,” maintains Head Coach Marc Mounicot. “We want to go all the way to the end. We want to win nationals. That’s the goal for the team this year.”
To make matters worse for their competition, this is still a very solid team that has not suffered the loss of its impact and more experienced players. The core as well as the periphery has returned, resulting in a veteran-laden team, one which knows the sacrifices and hard work needed to capture the coveted championship. The Martlets have lost only one starter from last year’s squad-midfielder Nina Gupta-and they boast six conference all-stars as well as several All-Canadians.
“We all realize that the team is strong this year-stronger than last year. We really don’t have any weak positions,” Mounicot said. “However, we have to keep everyone together, and maybe more importantly, we have to have the girls realize that nothing will be easy. I don’t want the team to become overconfident.”
All-star lineupThe Martlets’ run begins in net where goaltender Victoria Villalba returns after a season that saw her post 13 clean sheets in 25 games. The defence is exceptionally strong, anchored by All-Canadian Shari Fraser, team captain and last year’s McGill Female Athlete of the Year as well as co-Quebec University Soccer League Player of the Year. The midfield, the backbone of any contending soccer team, is very experienced as four of five starters have returned, led by All-Canadian Eloise Vandal. Finally, there is significant firepower in the striker positions led by sniper Magalie Kolker, who last season finished third in league scoring.
“I know my job is to put the ball in the net,” Kolker said. “But I also have to take more of a leadership role and get the team to work cohesively together.”
But it doesn’t seem like cohesion will be a problem for this group. The focus on training is palpable and the desire to bring a championship to McGill was expressed by all. The team is clearly united in their quest for the trophy. Even the recruits-an extremely impressive cast led by fullback Hannah Rishworth, a member of Team New Zealand at the 2006 Under-20 World Cup in Moscow -are on board for the ride, despite their lack of experience in CIS soccer.
“As a freshman, I’m a little intimidated by everything, even the culture here,” Rishworth said. “But McGill has a strong program and a great team this season.”
Strong out of the gateThe Martlets have already begun to assert their dominance this year. In the preseason Old Four tournament, McGill destroyed Western 6-2 in the final game to capture the title. But Coach Mounicot warns that the regular season road to the championship will be a bit tougher. “I think all the teams in the league will be good. Laval, Concordia and Sherbrooke all have good recruits,” he said. “The level of the league is better every year and there will certainly be lots of parity this year. We’re going to have to play 14 playoff games because everyone will be raising their game to try to beat us.”
The talent of this group is unquestionable. Now all that’s left is to bring home a championship; anything less will simply be a disappointment for this exceedingly strong group of Martlets.
