Two South Delta Secondary graduates in the starting 11 helped a world-renowned Ivy League school win the women’s soccer conference championship. The almost surreal feat is what Alessia Azermadhi and Olivia Sheppard accomplished last Saturday.
The Tsawwassen girls helped the Princeton Tigers continue their outstanding season with a 1-0 win over Penn at Philadelphia. Ranked 13th in the nation, the 14-2 Tigers now move onto the NCAA Championships with an opening round match at home on Friday against Monmouth University.
Princeton has been seeded fourth in its bracket and would face Arkansas or North Carolina State in the round of 32.
Azermadhi is in her senior season at Princeton and has spent much of her university career playing midfield. Sheppard is a sophomore who wasted little time cracking the Tigers starting line-up as a defender/midfielder.
Both players received lucrative student aid deals to attend the New Jersey school after being part of the Whitecaps Girls Elite Program.
Closer to home, there was plenty of South Delta flavour as the Canada West women’s soccer championships wrapped up on the weekend in Langley.
The host Trinity Western Spartans captured their seventh Canada West title in the program’s history with a 2-1 victory over the Victoria Vikings. Both teams are at this weekend’s U SPORTS National Championships in Winnipeg.
The Spartans roster features four Delta players — Danae Derksen (Delta Secondary), Jenaya Robertson (Delta), Kiersten Sawchuk (South Delta) and Rachel Sydor (South Delta).
UVic’s line-up includes Delta Secondary grad Emily Lieuwen who has enjoyed another outstanding season in the Vikes’ midfield.
The fourth-year science major was one of three Victoria players named to the Canada West First All-Star Team. She recorded six points and also was recognized for her solid defensive play.
Lieuwen, Derksen, Sawchuck and Sydor were all teammates on a dominant Tsawwassen Thunder girls team that played at the Metro level under coaches Bob Birarda and Jeff Derksen. The roster also included UBC players Emma Kallner and Nadia Langenberg, along with Azermadhi.
Lieuwen has also thrived in the classroom at UVic. Last year, the chemistry student was recipient of the Provost Award — presented to a student-athlete who achieves a GPA of 6.6 or higher.
