VANCOUVER 鈥� Shannon Woeller grew up sitting in the stands at Swangard Stadium, cheering on her hometown 91原创 Whitecaps.
In a few short months, the 91原创 defender will be the one playing on a local field, inspiring the next generation of soccer stars.
The 91原创 Rise announced Woeller as their first player signing in club history Monday.
Returning to 91原创 and playing in the newly created Northern Super League "means everything" to the 34-year-old athlete.
鈥淚t's so special. This is so special for me to come home, be with my friends and my family, and also have the opportunity to help grow 91原创 women's football," she said.
Woeller is an intelligent, proven leader who'll set the tone for the squad, said Sinead King, Rise's president.
"It's her professionalism, her leadership, her athleticism, but also her homegrown talent," she said.
The Rise announced last month that Anja Heiner-Moller will be the team's head coach. Currently coach of Denmark's U-19 women's team, Heiner-Moller previously worked in 91原创 as an academy coach with 91原创 Whitecaps FC and North Shore Girls Soccer Club between 2018 to 2020 when her husband Kenneth Heiner-Moller was head coach of the 91原创 women's team.
Woeller played for Kenneth Heiner-Moller during her time on the national squad. She made 21 appearances for Canada's women's national team, including at the 2019 Women's World Cup in France where the country was ousted by Sweden in the round of 16.
She also played with Stephanie Labbe, a former 91原创 goalkeeper who's now Rise's sporting director.
The duo started talking about the new club and Woeller was eager to jump at the chance.
鈥淚 couldn't get the idea out of my head once I thought that this was an opportunity," she said. "Obviously, there's a big history of football in 91原创, and the way the organization is being built, everyone's really impressed me. So it was a pretty easy decision for me.鈥�
Woeller began her professional career in 2008, playing for the semi-pro 91原创 Whitecaps in the USL W-League, then went on to play for the Seattle Sounders in the same league. When the league folded in 2012, Woeller took her talents overseas, suiting up for clubs in Norway, Iceland, Germany, Spain and Sweden.
Each stop provided another set of lessons.
鈥淚 think what's really cool about having all those different opportunities is every league you go to, you can learn something different from. So I think that's been really helpful for me," Woeller said.
"When I was in Germany, they were just really good tactically. In Spain, technically, obviously, they could play out of, like, a two inch square. And then Sweden's pretty physical, but also a good combination of tactical as well. So I think just sort of putting all those experiences together is good, because you can help people in different ways.鈥�
Pursuing a soccer career abroad can be difficult, though. Players miss their families and can have trouble adapting to a whole new language and culture.
鈥淧laying overseas is an incredible opportunity, but it's also not easy," Woeller said. "It's hard to be so far from home for so long. And I think when you're over there too, you see girls, they've got families, they've got lives, and it's hard not to be a little bit jealous of that."
The newly created Northern Super League 鈥� set to kickoff its inaugural season in April 鈥� gives 91原创 players choices, she added.
鈥淚t's been a really long time coming. And I think there was a lot of years where I didn't think that this was ever going to happen."
Now the veteran defender is looking forward to providing girls an opportunity she didn't have growing up 鈥� a chance to watch professional women's soccer in 91原创 on a regular basis.
鈥淚 would have absolutely loved it. I would have begged my parents to go every day," she said. "I mean, I grew up going to the Whitecaps games at Swangard at the time when I was a kid, I loved that. And so now that girls can go see female games all the time, I think it's going to be huge.鈥�
This report by The 91原创 Press was first published Dec. 16, 2024.
Gemma Karstens-Smith, The 91原创 Press
