Breaking Down the UPEI and St. FX Women's Recruits

--By Dylan Matthias

Sure, we gave Dalhousie their own post, but St. FX and UPEI also announced recruiting classes in women's soccer. We'd be remiss not to assign them some brief thoughts and a grade, too.

St. FX X-Women

Analyzing the X recruits is tricky because of how little we know about them. Youth club websites are a mixed batch and sometimes stats are available and sometimes they aren't. So bear that in mind.

X will lose two wide attackers in the extremely skilled but under-performing Eugenia Renderos and Allie Anderson. Between them they scored three goals in 2009. Not whopping numbers, but it will likely fall to Melanie Sunada, Shannon Venedam, and Shannon McPhee to provide a few goals, as well as service from the flanks for Olivia Zanette and Amy MacKinnon.

The X-Women were a bit of an odd team last year, better on the field than they were on paper. They remind one of Aston Villa: well-organized but maybe a little less skilled than the top teams. X managed 25 points in 2009, which is exactly the same as the star-studded Cape Breton Capers, even though X have none of the big names.

The question from a recruiting perspective is figuring out how these new recruits will mesh into this group. Will these recruits provide that extra little bit or will they, too, fit into the scoring role-player mould? There's no one in the list of X recruits who makes me lean towards the former. Once these players adjust, they strike me as a solid group of achievers who may get to nationals occasionally but will never make any serious noise.

Looking to the future, this is a bit of a disappointing group from X. It's a status quo group. From a team that got a nice taste of CIS last year, one would hope for a little more ambition, especially given the quality of the university and academics they can offer.

Overall recruiting grade: C. They're not getting worse. Some of the rookies will perform, but no one looks capable of bringing that extra little bit of quality.

UPEI Panthers

It's interesting that both the teams in this post are teams on the rise. UPEI finished second in 2009, slipping in ahead of CBU. They scored 20 goals and only conceded seven. These are marks of a solid AUS team.

But the fact that UPEI will host CIS nationals means the Panthers need to turn a good, steady ascendancy into more of an exponential growth. What were nice little steps need to become big steps.
This is not a "big steps" recruiting class. It is somewhere between a little step and a big step. There are solid players in this class: Maggie McSweeney brings a tenacity up front that can be a bit rare in the women's game. Ali Goodman of Saskatchewan promises some skill and likely two to five goals in her first year. They'll add a nice versatility to a UPEI team that relied too heavily (if successfully) on Tessa Roche last year.

Even in AUS play, Roche won't score 13 goals in 2010. Teams know about her now. She'll be marked out of the game. On the CIS level, she will not have the time or space available in AUS. Goodman and McSweeney, as well as Kinza Baker, may get some space to capitalize on as teams focus on Roche.

The three midfield recruits, Patty Trainor, Sarah Stanley, and Katie O'Brien, will provide cover for an effective, if unheralded midfield. Trainor will likely start, and her experience with this team will do wonders for a fairly young Panthers team who will have only one fifth year again in 2010, as Mandy Lise McKenna leaves.

Replacing McKenna may be an issue, since it's doubtful Lynn Symmington can step into AUS immediately, especially on defense, and the Panthers lack another really experienced defender. Chanelle Roy may be required to have another all-star worthy season.

It's tempting to brush off the provincial players as playing on what is largely considered a lacklustre provincial team in comparison to some of the larger provinces. But large portions of the Panthers have been made up of former provincial players, and that has worked for them. This recruiting class falls into largely the same pattern. UPEI will improve again in 2010, although they're a ways from being a true CIS threat yet.

Overall recruiting grade: B+. Given the size of UPEI in general and the limits it has on recruiting, attracting a legit star would always be difficult. What Mike Redmond is doing is building a tight team. As they showed in 2009, they will be able to surprise people. These recruits fit that mould.

--Dylan Matthias is the incoming sports editor at the Dalhousie Gazette. He runs Dal Soccer Live on the side to provide more in-depth coverage of AUS and ACAA soccer. He has been a Toronto FC fan since Danny Dichio scored the team's first ever goal. It showed him the magic of soccer.