Fredericton girls make up half the N.B. soccer team for Canada Games

There is no shortage of Fredericton content among soccer players headed to the Canada Games. Nine players from the Fredericton area will go to Winnipeg to represent New Brunswick.

"I think it's awesome," said 16-year-old Olivia Rowinski, one of the Fredericton members of Team New Brunswick.

For me, I think of it as a mini-Olympics.- Olivia Rowinski

"It's just really nice having girls I'm with all the time with me more, and getting to know each other more."

According to Barry Morrison, club head coach for the Fredericton District Soccer Association, the city's representation varies from games to games.

"The last time around I'm note sure if we have a single female on the Canada Games team," said Morrison. 

"And then this year to have nine — that clearly that would show that there's a pretty strong pocket of girls. And maybe it also speaks a little bit to the programing they're getting here in town."

Although New Brunswick is one of the smaller provinces, Rowinski thinks the chemistry among the soccer players will help give the team an edge. 

"I kind of find having just the girls from Fredericton, training with them all the time, I find it builds better chemistry on the field and off," said Rowinski.

"We know how we all play together, we all know who likes what, and who doesn't like this, and how it's like to be around each other. And it's really an advantage for us."

Dream come true

For Rowinski, making the Canada Games team has been a goal for two years.

"It's the biggest thing that's ever happened to me in sport," she said. "For me, I think of it as a mini-Olympics."

Rowinski said that when she got the email that she made the team, she wept.

"I cried for a good 20 minutes because it was such an exciting thing for me."

Making the team was a big deal for Rowinski, and she had to make sacrifices to get to this point. She gave up playing the other sports she used to play, and she moved from Fredericton to Moncton to train at a high performance academy there.

"Having to lift up my whole life and move there to train, I had to sacrifice a lot. I had to sacrifice not being around my family a lot."

And this isn't the end of her soccer dreams. Rowinski is hoping to be make a national team someday.

Canada Games expectations

For Rowinski, the goal isn't to come away with a medal. She recognizes that will be tough, given New Brunswick's size. But she's hoping the team can do better than any other women's soccer team from New Brunswick in the past.

"I don't think New Brunswick's female team for soccer has ever gotten more than eighth place there, so I think that's a big goal for us — to push for higher than that," said Rowinski.

The first wave of athletes leaves for Winnipeg on Thursday, with the opening ceremonies happening on Friday.

Team New Brunswick plays its first soccer game on Saturday against Nova Scotia.