December of 2010: that was the last Christmas when local soccer sensation Cloe Lacasse did NOT need to try and squeeze in some quality holiday time with family and friends, given that Sudbury still remained her year-round base.

Stints in Iowa (NCAA Hawkeyes – 2011 – 2015), Iceland (IB Vestmannaeyjar – Soccer Club – 2015 – 2019), Portugal (Benfica – 2019 – 2023) and now England (Arsenal – 2023) have caused the 30 year-old graduate of Ecole Secondaire Macdonald-Cartier to log more than her fair share of air miles as she returns home for a little festive cheer.

But for as much as her time in these parts was already quite precious, Lacasse had not previously returned as a World Cup of Soccer contributor, a talented attacker who has greatly solidified her role on the Canadian national team with the 2024 Summer Olympics (Paris) only a half a year away.

“I don’t consider myself as famous – I’m going to say that right now,” said Lacasse with a smile on Tuesday evening, taking time from her busy schedule to spend an hour or so with GSSC (Greater Sudbury Soccer Club) U17 Girls head coach Doug Rosener and his team. Wednesday found the multi-sport talent in her youth addressing the entire student body of her alma mater, sharing her story and key messages.

Ya, Cloe – ‘ya kinda are famous now.

It’s certainly not as though Lacasse is oblivious to the increased demands on her time. It is, after all, part and parcel of achieving some of the loftiest soccer goals the highly accommodating young woman ever conceived.

“In the last year, things have really blown up (in a good way), if we’re being honest.”

By the time that the 2023 Women’s World Cup wrapped up in Australia, Lacasse had clearly garnered favour with head coach Bev Priestman. A pair of starts in the ensuing Olympic qualifying matches would see the speedy winger score a critical goal that deadlocked the second half of a two-game aggregate series with Jamaica, a key strike in allowing Canada to book their ticket to the Games for the fifth straight time.

Earlier this month, Lacasse blasted home a world class strike to earn Arsenal a tie with Manchester United - left-footed, no less. Where her earliest signs of offensive greatness were centered around her quickness and fearlessness in physically engaging opposing defenders, this most recent highlight-reel tally would showcase the incredible footwork she has developed, finding space within a limited area while surrounded by no less than four (perhaps five) Man U jerseys.

The route she travelled to get to this point, however, lies at the very heart of the earlier quote involving her fame. “Nothing came quickly; it took a while,” stressed Lacasse. “Everything I have achieved in my career has been a function of fighting for every inch. For that reason alone, it’s easy to be grounded.”

Actually, easy to be both grounded and appreciative.

“I definitely come from very humble beginnings,” she said. “My family helps keep me grounded. And since it took so long to achieve, none of these moments are taken for granted. Every day is an opportunity where I am grateful to be here.”

That much is evident as one witnesses the ease with which the somewhat shy youngsters now navigates the assembled crowd of well-wishers and star-dazed teens at the Lancer Dome. “I am coming to terms with the fact that when I was younger, I would have definitely wanted to have people around me who could have inspired and motivated me,” said Lacasse.

“I think it’s important, especially coming for a community where soccer is not necessarily the biggest thing, that we have those faces, those voices, who can inspire and motivate future generations.”

“It’s amazing having her here,” admitted GSSC veteran Bryn Hobson. “Her being here just shows that any one of us is capable of getting to that level.”

And while sixty minutes or so of shared time can only allow for so much of a transfer of soccer knowledge, Hobson has no doubt that she and her teammates are better for the experience of meeting and chatting with the local product who led the Iowa Hawkeyes in scoring in each and every one of her four years at the school and voted the top player in the Portuguese women’s league in 2022-2023.

“We’re good at lots of things,” said Hobson. “We’re good at passing, we’re good at shootng – but we’re not very good at some ball-handling technical skills. Cloe is a girl from Sudbury and she’s one of the best technical players in the world.”

In fact, her game has evolved substantially – and understandably – since the time when she first teamed with the likes of Karolyne Blain and Natalie St Laurent and Ashley Bechard and Stephanie Vallée (and others) to lead the ESMC Panthères to back to back OFSAA Girls A Soccer Championships in 2010 and 2011.

“At Arsenal, they have been using me more on the right side where with Canada, I am on the left side,” said Lacasse. “At the end of the day, I am a winger either way – and I’m quite good at using both feet (see goal versus Man U above).”

“The teams use a little different formations, so with Canada, I play a little more defensively. With Arsenal, it’s full throttle going forward – so it’s just a matter of remembeing which team you are with that day,” she added with a smile.

And lest anyone be concerned that the gifted scorer who has made a career of finding the back of the net is suddenly turning over a new leaf – well, Lacasse was quick to clarify. “Let’s get this straight: I am definitely still an attacker. I am not a defender – but I am an attacker who is very good at defending – which does not make me a very good defender.”

If fame is now part of the Cloe Lacasse package, so too is the humility – and that has never changed, from start to finish of her soccer journey.