“You do see a bit of a hot fire in some of them. That competitive spirit has not been dampened.”
A pair of yellow cards handed out in a battle of the top two teams in the Sudbury Women’s Soccer Club – Sudbury Credit Union and S.N. Gas & Convenience – would suggest that league veteran Meaghan Boisvert is not at all wrong in her assessment.
That said, Boisvert plays for Shield Engineering & Architecture, a squad that has enjoyed a fair bit of roster stability – all of which goes a long way towards helping newcomers to the league understand the balance that needs to be struck as women ranging in ages typically from 18 to perhaps 45 or so contest twice-weekly matchups at either Delki Dozzi Sports Complex or Queen’s Athletic Field.
“I think we have such a strong leadership group, that if someone needs a timeout, we’ll try and self-regulate,” said the 39 year-old lawyer and graduate of Collège Notre-Dame with a bit of a smile.
“Everyone has to work tomorrow.”
Sitting in third place with a record of 14-6-1, Boisvert and the Shield were full measure for a 5-0 win last week over the Nickel City Suites (9-9-3) as the team that initially merged two previous SWSC entries into a singular formation leads the bracket of five teams that sit just below the league frontrunners.
“We have girls who have been playing together since they were teenagers – and then a good group of us who have formed a bond playing for this team, playing together for the past six or seven years,” said Boisvert. “We like to pride ourselves on how collegial our team is.”
“Winning is nice, but it’s not everything.”
While many a roster is dotted with names of women who in their youth might have donned the jerseys of Sudbury Canadians or Panhellenic or GSSC Impact teams, the overwhelming majority of participants come at it from a purely recreational soccer background. That mix of talent makes for an interesting dynamic.
“We have three girls who joined is recently from GSSC,” said Boisvert. “They have received the most recent coaching and have provided a lot of feedback in terms of what they are used to doing. On every team, there are some natural leaders that emerge and provide guidance.”
As for the natural turnover that will occur over time, Boisvert suggested that pretty much all teams follow more or less the same model, with the off-season distribution of talent this past winter among the most parity-driven that the SWSC has seen in some time.
“We’ve been lucky in that everyone knows someone – and this year, we had a couple of girls who came back to it. In Sudbury, as you know, there is far less than six degrees of separation.”
A quick glance at the scoresheet for the 1 vs 2 classic tilt at Queen’s would suggest that familiarity is indeed key. While S.N. Gas & Convenience have undergone a multitude of sponsor changes over the years, the names of the starting eleven, plus a few subs, has not changed nearly as much.
On this night, that proved helpful as the league-leaders stopped Sudbury Credit Union 4-0, with Roxanne Seguin scoring twice and Desirée Stortini and Kendall Charette adding one goal apiece. Backstopping the crew, as she has for much of her adult life, is former Confederation Chargers' keeper and Valley East Soccer Club product Jessica Carson.
“Everyone has kids and stuff now and it’s just so cool that we are still able to come out on the field and be with each other for social and exercise,” noted the 37 year-old who kept her shutout alive with an outstanding diving stop late in the game.
A go-to as a cooler head and voice of reason on her team, Carson offers a coy smile as she tries to explain the rationale behind a match-up of largely 25 to 40 year-old women that did get heated, at times.
“Some people might mistake this for FIFA, sometimes,” said Carson, tongue partially planted in cheek. “The players come from a competitive background, so we’ve always had that competitive nature in us. And we do like to play against the girls who do like to play competitive against us.”
“But nobody wants to hurt each other. We want to play hard. It’s just the excitement and adrenaline does get going.”
With S.N. (18-2-1) and Sudbury Credit Union (18-3-1) near dead even in the standings, this particular result was a rewarding one for Carson and company.
“We talked the entire time, kept the ball on the ground as much as we could and stayed as a team, which was amazing,” said the ultra-friendly goalie who benefitted from a great view of the game.
As for the big save, Carson was happy simply to come out on top, at least this time. “She is usually pretty good at reading me and trying to deke me. I kind of waited for her and I got it this time, which was great.”
Far beyond the wins and losses, however, lies the appreciation of the likes of Meaghan Boisvert and countless other simply for the opportunity that the SWSC offers, a loop that has been guided steadily by retired teacher and all-around athlete Nicole Gravelle for several decades now.
“It’s such an important social outlet, especially for women to have that schedule time,” said Boisvert. “There are mixed leagues, but it’s not the same.”
