Edmonton Drillers wins 2022 Alberta Cup women’s provincial championship

Edmonton Drillers won their first women’s Alberta Cup provincial championship on Monday 5 September with a 1:0 victory over Edmonton Northwest United SC. Midfielder Elise Emmott scored the lone goal in the 88th minute on a right-footed shot from distance. With the victory, Edmonton Drillers qualified for Canada Soccer’s 2022 Toyota National Championships in Vaughan, Ontario.

In the Monday Final, Edmonton’s starting lineup featured Kelti Biggs in goal, Maggie Zacsko at right back, Annalise Schellenberg and Keisha Weatherald at centre back, Tori Martyn at left back, Morgan Corbett, Elise Emmott and Megan Duro at midfield, and Kayla Michaels, Kristyn Shapka and Laura Kautz up front. Brenna Coady, Lilie Pearson, Brooklyn St-Amand and Sarah Vos featured as substitutes while Carmya Mastrangelo, Jessie Spurrell, Terri Kutryk and Veronique Mayer did not feature. Ashley Turner, Kennedy Ballam, Marissa Webb and McKayla Brault are also part of the squad, but did not dress for the Final.

Edmonton Northwest United SC were the last Alberta Cup winners in 2019 before the global pandemic canceled the 2020 and 2021 provincial finals. This year marked the first time that Edmonton Drillers reached the Alberta Cup women’s final, while their men’s team were provincial runners up in 2014.

While this will mark the first time that Edmonton Drillers compete at Canada Soccer’s Toyota National Championships, they are in fact expected to feature one of the most experienced sides at the Jubilee Trophy finals. From their 23-player roster, Drillers feature 12 former national winners who won the Jubilee Trophy with Edmonton Victoria SC between 2009 and 2017. Of note, Emmott, Michaels and Shapka are all four-time national champions while Weatherald is a five-time national champion. The team is coached by Rick Haxby and Elisa Stamatakis.