For immediate release

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November 8, 2009

Kwantlen women's soccer team wins bronze at nationals

(TORONTO, ON) The Kwantlen Eagles women's soccer team made history on November 7, 2009 as the first Eagles squad, in any sport, to bring home a Canadian Colleges’ Athletic Association (CCAA) national medal. The women's soccer team thrilled the crowd throughout the CCAA national championships tournament, with two of their three matches going into shoot-outs.

Enjoying the first sign of sunshine all week, the Eagles played beyond their injuries and clinched the bronze medal Saturday in an exciting match, defeating Francois-Xavier Garneau College in penalty kicks 1-0 [4-3 penalty kicks].

"We've been through a lot as a team and I'm so proud of how far we've come," said Captain Brittany McNeill. "To win the bronze medal at our first nationals is a testament to how hard our team has worked. Although we took the longest and hardest route, we gave it our all until the end."

Entering the championships as the sole unranked team, the Eagles made their mark and continued to put their penalty kick prowess to the test. Fresh off their victory from winning the 2009 British Columbia Colleges' Athletic Association (BCCAA) Provincial championships where all three games went to PK, the Eagles put in an inspirational performance at nationals and didn’t disappoint.

"This is the toughest team mentally that I have ever coached, and it shows in the result," commented head coach Vladimir Samozvanov. "We have 11 rookies, so it is a huge step up to compete against National team players. They didn't panic, they maintained their composure and played as a team. It was a great game."

Kelsey Docherty (Vancouver) was named player of the match for the Eagles and Amelia Ng (Richmond) was awarded for her second shut-out performance of the tournament, her fifth in six post-season matches.

The team returned to Vancouver Sunday and were greeted by family and fans.

Kwantlen’s varsity athletics teams are the Kwantlen Eagles. In basketball, soccer, badminton and golf, they compete in national intercollegiate leagues. For more information about the Kwantlen Eagles, visit kwantlen.ca/eagles

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For more information about this story or the Eagles soccer programs, contact:
Elise Le Brun
Director, Athletics & Recreation
Tel: 604.599.2005
elise.lebrun@kwantlen.ca

OR

For more information about Kwantlen, contact:
Peter Chevrier
Director, Marketing & Communications
Tel: 604.599.2286
peter.chevrier@kwantlen.ca