Taylor Rocca
Cranbrook’s Erin White has been named to the 2014-15 Alberta Colleges Athletic Association (ACAC) Women’s Soccer South All-Conference Team.
The ACAC announced the rosters for the both the North and South All-Conference Teams Oct. 24.
“It was pretty special,” White said over the phone from Calgary. “I’ve been playing soccer since I was young. A lot of hard work goes into making all the practices and attending all the games, so it was nice to be recognized for that, especially in a college league.
“Coming from a small town, where we don’t have a college [that] offers soccer as a sport there, coming to another city was special to receive that [award] representing my hometown.”
White, 19, completed her second season with the Southern Alberta Institute Technology (SAIT) Trojans this fall. The Trojans finished the campaign 4-5-1, just missing out on post-season action.
The 5-foot-11 defender recalled playing rep soccer when she was nine years old at home in Cranbrook before moving on and playing high-school soccer at Mount Baker Secondary School.
“I remember having very good coaches growing up,” White added. “Even being from a small town, I was very privileged to receive good coaching from people who actually care about your development in the sport.”
White suited up in all 10 games for the Trojans during the 2014 ACAC soccer season.
Trojans assistant coach John Talerico said White is a fantastic, smart and quick player who reads the game well. According to Talerico, White was not only present at all regular team practices, she put in time at extra, optional sessions, focusing on detailed areas of the game to help take her play to the next level.
“She was there every week [at optional practice sessions] working on the little things that add up,” Talerico said. “Really, that went a long way for her and went noticed by the coaching community in selecting her for the [All-Conference team].”
White wasn’t the only Trojan named to the ACAC South All-Conference team as she was joined by midfielder Cassey Bush and goalkeeper Katrina Greenley.
White is working on academic upgrading in hopes of getting into the medical radiologic technology program at SAIT. If all goes as planned, she will return to the Trojans for a third season in 2015.
“It’s great to have that leadership [from Erin] and the knowledge and background of what to expect,” Talerico said, hopeful for White to return to the program in 2015. “She will be a great, great leader [in the future].”
Rounding out the ACAC South All-Conference team are forwards Katrina Letwiniuk (Medicine Hat College), Jessica Small (Olds College), Jessice Whyte (Red Deer College); midfielders Jordyn Bell-Ham (Medicine Hat College), Meagan Clarke (Medicine Hat College), Leesa Eggum (Lakeland College); and defenders Mariah Lay (Medicine Hat College) and Victoria Poitras (Lethbridge College).