Wild times are ahead for soccer fans in Calgary.
The Calgary Wild Football Club (FC) have embarked on their inaugural season in the newly formed Northern Super League (NSL), a top-division professional women’s soccer league that features six Canadian teams.
The Wild began the season on the road and are off to a 1-2 start, with the first franchise victory coming on April 26th with a 4-1 win over the Halifax Tides.
Their first home game is now set to take place on Sunday, May 11th at 5 p.m. at McMahon Stadium against the Ottawa Rapid in a Mother’s Day matchup.
Lydia Bedford, the club’s head coach, is excited to see what the team can achieve in year one.
“From the moment I met and spoke with the staff who are driving the Calgary Wild FC project, I felt their infectious energy and could see right away the passion and care they have for bringing a professional women’s team to Calgary and wanted to be a part of it,” said Bedford, who is from England and has family in the Calgary area.
“It is an honour to be named the first coach of the Calgary Wild FC in its inaugural season … there’s something special about being there from the start and it’s certainly going to be an exciting journey here in Calgary,” added Bedford in a statement on the team’s website.
“Fans will see a style of football that evolves across the season. We want to play an exciting style of football that is enjoyable to watch. We will be gritty and hard working without the ball and will look to utilize our team strengths on the ball to assert ourselves on the opponent.”
Defender Grace Stordy is one of several homegrown talents on the Wild.
“Being named to the Calgary Wild FC is an absolute honour. It’s been a dream of mine for a long time to be able to represent the city I love and grew up in. Professional soccer has been an incredible experience for me so far, but finally having the opportunity to play professionally on Calgary soil is truly an incredible feeling, something I will never take for granted,” said Stordy, who played pro with SC Braga in the Portugeuse first division.
“Growing up in Calgary there wasn’t much for me to be excited about or look up to professionally. The Calgary Wild FC is already catching the eye of many young and old and we are just getting started! I am very motivated to go out into the community and chat with young players aspiring to play professionally.”
Fellow Calgarian Sarah Keilty-Dilling is also excited about the chance to play professionally in the Stampede City.
“What this means to me is hard to put into words because it is something that I have dreamt of since I was a little girl, and to be honest, for most of my life just seemed to be an impossible dream,”, said the goalkeeper, who represented Canada internationally at the 2017 World University Games and participated in U20 and U17 national camps in 2010.
“It’s difficult to explain the feeling you get when your dreams come true. I feel very humbled with this opportunity which is one of the greatest honours of my life. I am more excited and motivated than I have ever been.”
Each NSL team will play 25 regular-season matches through mid-October. The top four clubs will advance to two-legged semifinals, with the winners squaring off in a single championship game on Nov. 15th.
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