Calgary Blizzard proved its mettle on the path to being crowned champions of the inaugural League1 Alberta season and clinching a place at the 2024 League1 Canada Women’s Inter-Provincial Championship.
The Blizzard’s title hopes came down to a nail-biting winner-takes-all shoutout against St. Alberta Impact. A standout performance from goalkeeper Lauren Houghton, who not only saved the final penalty but scored herself, helped Calgary come out on top.
It was good preparation for this weekend’s Women’s Inter-Provincial Championship in Hamilton, Ont., where the Blizzard will once again be looking to make a statement. One of three competition debutants, the Blizzard will line up against the best of the best from British Columbia, and defending Inter-Provincial champions, Whitecaps FC Girls Elite, in semifinal play on Friday night at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT at Tim Hortons Field. The winner will advance to the Championship Final on Sunday, Aug. 11 at 12 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT, while the other team will compete in a third-place match at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT that day.
There will be some familiarity between the Blizzard and the Whitecaps as the face off in their semifinal match on Friday. Blizzard Head Coach and Sporting and High Performance Director Diogo Raposo and Whitecaps head coach Katie Collar previously coached together at the University of Calgary and a number of Blizzard players, like Kaylee Hunter, have moved on to the Whitecaps academy.
“I think their program is a little bit different, where they’re a full time program, and they’re training four or five days a week,” said Raposo. “They’ve signed five pros onto their team because they’re preparing for (Concacaf W Champions Cup) and those pieces. For us, we know how football is. We know that it’s anyone’s game on that given day, and our girls will be ready for the challenge.”
The Blizzard know applying pressure defensively and continuing to produce goals will be key to its success on Friday. Raposo said that while his team can be organized, physical and defensive-minded when it needs to be, his players also love to have the ball at their feet and take risks.
“We’ll be brave. We’ll take chances. We’ll take players on. We’ll go for it … almost have that bend but not break mentality to make sure that okay, we might give them a bit of space in certain areas, but trap them to go and win the ball and potentially counter to go and find a way to score,” said Raposo.
Blizzard are not a one-dimensional team. Along with Houghton, other players that should be on the Whitecaps radar include top goal scorers Aislin Phillips and Alyssa D’Agnone and Grace Moore and Mykena Walker, who also netted two goals each this season.
As a first representative for League1 Alberta in the competition, Calgary knows it’s playing for more than a medal as it represents Alberta on the biggest stage for women’s club soccer in Canada. The side is not only growing its own organization, but playing its part in growing the women’s game in the province and across the country.
“We talk about the life cycle of a player, from U-4 to adult, and to be able to have our youngest players be able to watch our girls on OneSoccer, for it to be streamed and to be live, I think that’s exciting. To even see the draw where our club and logo is on TV, it’s exciting for players to be like, ‘Yeah, we’re this amateur club in Alberta, but now we’re at a national stage or a national competition,’” said Raposo.
“Having that recognition, from a club point of view, it’s that piece and understanding that they also have that opportunity as they get older, and hopefully they see themselves wearing that club crest. It’s an honour to represent Alberta. The league here is very, very competitive. There’s some very, very good players that come out of Alberta, and I think we’d love to see more Albertans in the national team programs, and I think that’s what we’ll see in what League1 provides these players.”
Individual match tickets for the 2024 Women’s Inter-Provincial Championship are on sale here, starting at $20. Fans can also purchase a Weekend Ticket Pack starting at $35. Each Weekend Ticket Pack also grants the ticket holder access to the inaugural League1 Ontario Women’s League2 Division Final, which will be played at Tim Hortons Field on Saturday, Aug. 10 at 1 p.m. ET. The winner of the final will earn the divisional title and promotion to the L1ON Championship Division, the second tier of the League1 Ontario competition pyramid.