—By Ottawa South United Force Academy
Ottawa South United was proud to have three of our alumni represent Team Canada at November’s FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Uruguay – Isabella Hanisch, Kayza Massey and Ariel Young.
Isabella Hanisch was a key member of our 2002 Girls team before moving to the Ontario REX Program in Toronto in 2017.
Kayza Massey will be making her second World Cup appearance after representing Ghana previously. Kayza joined OSU as part of our club affiliation with Ottawa-Gloucester Hornets to allow her to progress into the OPDL before eventually joining Ontario REX Program as well.
Ariel Young began her soccer with OSU until U14 and has also had the opportunity to play with the Women’s National Team earlier this year.
“Having worked with Isabella and Ariel from a young age within OSU’s Centre of Excellence, it was clear that they had the potential to compete for Canada someday,” noted Club Technical Director, Paul Harris. “For Kayza it was also clear when she joined us later on that she had the right attributes to compete internationally. For the coaches who have worked with the three players, and the club as a whole it is very pleasing to see their dreams and aspirations come to fruition.”
These young women helped Canada to its best-ever finish at the event, placing 4th.
Force 2003 Girls cap off amazing year as OPDL Champions
After becoming the first-ever female team from Eastern Ontario to capture an OPDL championship, OSU’s U15 girls secured a rare double with a 3-0 win over Burlington in the November Charity Shield final.
It was a dominant performance from start-to-finish for this group that went from a middle-of-the-pack finish last season to a convincing place atop the province. OSU finished 18-1-1 in league play, with a +53 goal differential, conceding only 13 goals in 20 matches including 13 clean sheets.
“I think they exceeded even our own expectations,” Harris acknowledged.
“But the girls have always had a great work ethic, and they’re also a very tight-knit group. We’re delighted, and the girls deserve all the accolades, given their consistency and their performances.”
In December, OSU made up the bulk of selections for Team Ontario programming for 2005-born girls. With 20+ players chosen across 6 age groups, OSU was amongst the province’s top-3 clubs for total number of selections to 2019 high-performance Provincial Projects.
89 Club Grads played varsity soccer this fall
It is with great pride that we celebrate the individual player successes of our club alumni. In 2018, we have a club record 89 graduates competing for their universities and colleges across North America.
This impressive number illustrates the primary objective of our Force Academy – to help each and every player reach their ultimate goals in the game.
In 2015, OSU introduced the College Prep Program to ensure that we continue to have a pipeline of graduates going on to play in university and college each year. Look out for some impressive additions to this program over the coming months.
Coaches within OSU’s College Prep Program also coach at local universities, including David Bellemare at the University of Ottawa, and Coach Dom Oliveri, along with Jasmine Phillips and Aaron Falsetto at Carleton University.
Some highlights for our alumni included:
Micha Salhany, Julia Rosenthal, Thea Nour and Julia Tardioli, along with David Bellemare, claiming the 2018 U Sports Women’s National Championship with the uOttawa Gee-Gees.
Ismail Sow winning the 2018 Men’s National Championship with the Université de Montréal Carabins.
A pile of Carleton Ravens men’s team players developed with OSU in our Force Academy and League One programs. They won Carleton’s first national medal in over 15 years with a bronze.
Clarissa Larisey had a breakout season at the University of Memphis – leading the Tigers in goals and earning a spot in the NCAA top-25. She was a unanimous first-team all-conference selection.
Julia Bailey will be the next OSU recruit heading to Memphis – one of many Force products to sign with varsity programs.
OSU invited to TFC’s BMO Champions Cup
OSU was excited to attend the BMO Champions Cup in mid-November. Toronto FC invited our 2005 boys to participate against the very best after a very successful summer season in the Ontario Soccer OPDL.