Team-first mentality drives new Griffins record holder West
Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Talking about herself doesn't come easily for Sunder West.
The intriguing new MacEwan women's soccer forward, who just broke the program record for most points in a game with four against UBC-Okanagan last Saturday – in only her third start in a Griffins uniform – would rather see her teammates get the credit.
"How do I put this? It's not really something I care that much about," she said of the two-goal, two-assist outing that is also tied for the sixth-most points in a half in Canada West women's soccer history.
"I care more about the success of the team. I kind of feel I was more excited when one of my teammates scored instead of what I did, but it's exciting to do well for myself as well. I'm just happy if the team is doing well."
The Griffins have indeed been rolling and will put an undefeated record (3-0-1) on the line this weekend when they welcome UFV (2-1-1) on Saturday (12 p.m., Commonwealth Stadium) and fellow unbeaten Trinity Western (3-0-1) on Sunday (12 p.m., Clarke Stadium, both games on Canada West TV presented by Co-op).
MacEwan head coach Dean Cordeiro notes West's selfless mentality is evident on the field.
"She's all about the team," he said. "She brings it every single day that she's at training and in the weight room. From a coaching standpoint, that's all you can ask for from one of your players. She's new to the team and is leaving an impression. The girls love her and she's fitting in perfectly.
"The one thing that makes her truly special is her ability to not just finish goals but create and supply the ball and make plays. She's just the total package."
West also leads the conference in shots by a country mile with 27 through four games (next closest is Calgary's Montana Leonard with 16) and is quickly becoming a focal point of the opposition's scouting reports.
The crazy thing is the Raymond, Alta. product is just scratching the surface. Until this past summer, when she led the Alberta Major Soccer League in scoring with 11 goals in 13 games for Lethbridge FC, West hadn't played soccer since the age of 14.
Basketball was her initial first love out of high school and she joined the Lethbridge College Kodiaks – a natural fit for her in taking after grandfather Allen West, who played for the fabled Lethbridge Broder's Chinooks squad, which won 75-straight games between 1958 and 1962 and is enshrined in the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame.
Prior to coming to MacEwan to play soccer, Sunder West was a star for the Lethbridge College Kodiaks women's basketball team, leading them to the 2016-17 CCAA national championship and winning tournament MVP (Photo courtesy Lethbridge College Kodiaks).
Sunder West averaged 17.5 points per game in her third and final campaign with the Kodiaks in 2016-17, leading them to a CCAA national championship and winning tournament MVP in the process. She was also honoured as ACAC playoff MVP and Lethbridge College's female athlete of the year.
"It was really special," said West. "I can't even describe the chemistry that I had with those girls. We're still all really close today. After my weekend, they all were messaging me. We all really support each other to this day, no matter where we are in our lives. It was a really special group."
West decided to go out on top after the 2016-17 season and hung up the basketball uniform.
"I think when we won nationals, I just felt that was a good way to end that career," she said. "I wasn't planning on playing sports after that. But then I decided to come to MacEwan just for school (she's studying to become a physiotherapist assistant). Something inside me said 'you have to play soccer.' "
Cordeiro couldn't be happier that she made that decision. West is an important part of MacEwan's possession-based style, using her size and experience in basketball and rugby (where she helped Raymond win three-straight high school provincial championships) to hold up the ball in the attacking third to create chances for teammates.
"She's a special talent and whenever she's on the ball, she can make something happen," said Cordeiro. "You don't see players like that all the time. She just has that ability to change the game at any point in time. She just makes the game look easy, especially in difficult circumstances.
"Just watching the game against TRU again on the film and it was such a physical game. It was something that kind of got her going a little bit more because she was able to hold up balls and go into traffic trying to make plays, knowing that she's going to maybe take a hit to make a play. She just does what she needs to do to help facilitate the ball."
Sunder West has hit the ground running, bringing a special array of talents to the pitch during her first Canada West women's soccer season (Chris Piggott photo).
Off the field, West is also all about helping her teammates succeed, aiming to transfer what made that Lethbridge College national championship team so successful to MacEwan.
"I feel like since I did have such good relationships with literally every single girl on my basketball team that I've been able to bring that over to this team," she explained. "I try to make relationships with each girl, so we can have that closeness. I think that's important to winning."
