Standout Sherwood Park striker Henderson set to bring scoring talents to Griffins next season
Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Gifted a soccer ball at age three by her grandmother, Alyx Henderson never left the house without it.
In the years since, she's developed as a star player in the Sherwood Park Phoenix soccer club, consistently demonstrating the skill necessary to play a year ahead of her age group.
Next season, the 2003-born striker will join the MacEwan University Griffins women's soccer team and has the talent to make an immediate impact.
"We're really excited about Alyx," said Griffins head coach Dean Cordeiro. "She's been an Alberta REX player and she's come up through the system with the Sherwood Park Phoenix club. She's been really well coached with Dhee Govender and her current coach Andreas Shilin; it's an excellent environment for her development."
Back in January, Henderson scored goals against the University of Alberta Pandas and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies while playing for Alberta REX at the Snow Cup tournament, providing an intriguing preview of what she might do for the Griffins.
"She's already a prolific goal scorer, an out-and-out No. 9, who is very good with her back to the net and dominant in the air," said Cordeiro. "She just has a knack for scoring goals. But in addition to her goal-scoring prowess, Alyx has also shown great vision and playmaking ability in an attacking midfield role. That kind of versatility makes her even more dangerous offensively."
The 5-foot-11 attacker, who was named Bev Facey's rookie of the year in 2018 and also has two summers of experience with Team Alberta, has a physical edge to her play, which will help her adjust quickly to playing in Canada West.
"Alyx has such a bright future," said Cordeiro. "I can't wait to see what she is going to accomplish in her career. A home-town kid, playing in her own backyard in front of family and friends, I think the next few years are going to be really special for Alyx."
Henderson is set to graduate from Bev Facey this spring. She will enter MacEwan's Biological Sciences program in the fall.
