September 26, 2024

Wall of Distinction: Undefeated CCAA national championship 2013 WSOC team still has a special bond

Jason Hills
For MacEwan Athletics

EDMONTON – Losing touch with those you went to high school or college with is inevitable.

Life happens. You start building a career and family that makes it tough to build on the bonds and friendships you made all those years ago.

But for the 2013 MacEwan Griffins women's soccer team, that bond they created on their way to the CCAA national championship that season, was special.

More than a decade later, one could say it's even stronger now.

"We still have our original team group chat from 10 years ago. We go to everybody's weddings; we all still hang out together. We have a special bond that still exists today," said Erika Vecchio, who played three seasons for the Griffins from 2013-15, after transferring from Concordia, and was also later an assistant coach at MacEwan.

"So often, people go their separate ways in life, but we always find a way to connect every few months and check in and spend time together."

The 2013 national championship team will be honoured during half time of the Griffins game on Saturday when MacEwan hosts the Regina Cougars at the Edmonton Scottish Dome (11 a.m., Canada West TV).

They are making history as the first team inducted into MacEwan's Wall of Distinction in a special ceremony as the Griffins Athletics department celebrates its 50-year anniversary.

While that 2013 national championship team built a special bond off the pitch, their season on it wasn't too shabby either.

A perfect 10-0-0 regular season that led to a ACAC championship title after a 3-2 win over their arch-rivals, the NAIT Ooks, in a gold medal game played in a crazy snowstorm in Medicine Hat.

Then, they went on to capture the CCAA national championship with a 2-0 win over Cégep Garneau, who had won six of the previous 10 national championships and, after their loss to MacEwan, won four more in a row.

In the process, they became the only MacEwan team ever to have a perfect season, going 15-0-0.

The Griffins interrupted Cégep Garneau's CCAA women's soccer dynasty by winning the 2013 national title (File).

When MacEwan head coach Dean Cordeiro thinks back to that national championship season, he can't help but smile and know they truly accomplished something incredible.

Cégep Garneau was an absolute powerhouse as their 2013 squad featured several players that would move on to star at the U SPORTS level with the Laval Rouge Et Or.

But despite being big underdogs in the gold medal game, the Griffins knocked off Garneau and stopped their dynasty.

"Joelle Goesselin, a year later, would star for Laval and score a hat-trick in the (CIS) national final," said Cordeiro.

"That national championship team that Laval had in 2014 had seven players from that Garneau team, five of which were starting. They were the core.

"When I think back, it was a remarkable feat. The Garneau team was special but we had to slay the giant to get the job done. Our team had such a strong belief. We knew how good Garneau was, but we knew how good we were."

When you bring up the national championship to Cordeiro, just like any good coach, he can remember every small detail in each game of the tournament.

In the win over Garneau, he recalled Nicola Weber scoring off a corner kick early in the match, and he said they just kept pushing the pace and battled to shut down Garneau's formidable attack.

He said it wasn't until Lindsay Butler's strike from just outside the 18-yard box that gave the Griffins the all-important insurance marker in the 75^th minute that he could breathe easier.

"It was truly special what we were able to accomplish," said Cordeiro.

"We seemed to get stronger every game we played. We were a team that played for each other, and they had that 'We Before Me' mentality and it was a bond that couldn't be broken with that group."

The Griffins celebrate with the CCAA championship trophy on the field after winning the final 2-0 (File).

One other incredible aspect of the 2013 Griffins was that this wasn't a team that was in the process of building years upon years to winning a national championship.

This was a team that was built in one season.

Cordeiro was in his first season with the Griffins after coming over from the Concordia Thunder.

He brought over a handful of players from the Thunder and recruited more. There was a few players left over from the Griffins previous season, too.

But the message and goals were simple early on. Despite being brought together that year – they had a goal of winning a national championship.

The team oozed talent, but how would it translate on the pitch?

Quite well in fact. But, Cordeiro said it took every player buying in.

"When you looked at our team on paper, we really liked our team, but we all know that doesn't win you games," said Cordeiro.

"We had a very talented team... a very skilled team that had a lot of big egos. We had a lot of girls that were used to playing all 90 minutes, but that wasn't the way we were going to play with this team. We were going to use everybody, and everybody had to buy into a role and support one another.

"We truly felt we assembled one of the best groups ever at the collegiate level. We just had to bring it out of them."

Erica Vecchio (14) was named tournament MVP as the Griffins captured the 2013 CCAA national championship (File).

Vecchio said the competition at that level is so tight. Every contending team has high elite skill and is well coached, but what can separate teams from winning a championship is how close-knit the team is – and despite having a group that didn't know each other all that well before the season started, the Griffins were willing to go to war for one another.

"We didn't know each other that well, we came from different places, and we weren't sure how we were going to mesh... that was a question mark," said Vecchio, who was named MVP of the 2013 CCAA national championship tournament.

"I think we were fortunate where we had a roster where most of us had at least one national competition under our belt. You could see just a few weeks into the season that we were building something.

"We had that chemistry on and off the field. We had a lot of talent, but the thing that separated us was how close-knit we became."

When the 2013 squad are honoured this weekend, there will no doubt be many memories shared between the former teammates and coaches and training staff. They'll think back to the fun times on the pitch, the team dinners, the road trips.

Most importantly they'll think about time spent with one another. That's one of the things that makes being a student-athlete so meaningful.

"The camaraderie, and the friendships made for sure. I had two of the girls from my team in my wedding party a few years ago," said Marlea McAvoy (Moroz).

"We all still hang out. We are all still so close... it's surreal the bond that we've created."

McAvoy was one of the original roster players MacEwan, and she admitted that she had a preconceived notion that she may not like some of her new teammates, many of whom transferred in from rival Concordia along with Cordeiro.

But that's how sports go, and her former enemies quickly became her best friends that year.

"I remember early on, I felt like a bit of an outsider, and I thought I was done. I was going to quit, but then Dean talked me out of it, and it was the best decision I ever made," said McAvoy.

"I remember going into (Dean's) office with the intention of quitting, and I walked out more excited for the season and ready to go to battle."

McAvoy will certainly remember all the memorable moments from that national championship team, and all the sacrifices her and her teammates made along the way to achieving glory.

And there are silly memories too.

She said their team song that year was Timber by Pitbull and Kesha, and anytime anyone hears that song, it immediately gets sent to the group chat.

When they're at one of their teammate's weddings, that song is guaranteed to be on the set list.

"When we hear that song (at weddings), no matter where we were we'd meet in the middle and jump around," said McAvoy.

On the wedding front, Jenny Lam even officiated former Griffins teammate Sheena Tracey's wedding.

Attending each other's weddings, such as when Marlea McAvoy (Moroz) got married in 2022 has been evidence of the tight-knit bond the 2013 Griffins women's soccer team had and still has (Courtesy Marley McAvoy).

McAvoy said the bond they all share with one another will never be broken, no matter where they are in their lives moving forward.

"Last year, I lost my mom and had my (first) baby two weeks later, and the girls were unbelievable. Friends can be family. They're there for you to celebrate the happy times, but they're there when you really need them," said McAvoy.

"Every one of my teammates are great people to the core. We bonded over an awesome experience, and I think nobody wants to let go of what we've created, not just as teammates, but as friends. We all make that effort.

"We would show up on and off the field for each other throughout the season, and it's continued to happen in our lives. I think that's more monumental to me than anything we did on the field."

Being the first team honoured on MacEwan's Wall of Distinction is fitting for the 2013 women's soccer team.

That team was special. That year was special, and they helped pave the way for the success of the program over the last decade.

They left their legacy.

"To be honest, when I received the email from our Athletics Director (Joel Mrak), I had to take a moment to let it sink in," said Cordeiro.

"To be recognized as a team ... you never take those things for granted as they're incredible celebrations. It had me at a loss for words.

"We did something really special here, and it will forever be enshrined at MacEwan, and I'm so proud of that team."

Head coach Dean Cordeiro poses with the 2013 CCAA National Championship trophy (File).